A Gift
by xblackrosefirex
Summary: Sequel to Rebuild a Foundation. It's been five years since Miriam and Bob's divorce, and Arnold and Helga have been a happy couple together ever since. They're both finally ready to start a new life together, but unexpected surprises await Helga.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!

This is a small, two fic companion piece to my recently finished fic, Rebuild a Foundation.

Title: A Gift

An ArnoldxHelga fic

Ages:

Arnold: 24

Helga: 24

Rating: Quite possibly K-T

Summary: Takes place a few years after Rebuild a Foundation. Arnold and Helga have been a couple for a long time now, and the Football Head has a surprise in store for Helga.

Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold, nor am I affiliated with the actors and/or the creators of the show.

Chapter One

Arnold and Gerald walked out of the store on 5th and Crestman in downtown Hillwood City. Gerald had offered to drive him there, because the blondes car, the Packard, which was given to him by his grandpa as a 21st birthday present (also because the man could no longer drive, due to his eyesight starting to fail).

"So, you're going on a date with Helga tonight, huh?"

Arnold scratched his head and smiled sheepishly as they got into Gerald's car, a 1958 dark red Ford Mustang.

"Uh, yeah. It sure is, Gerald."

Gerald frowned at Arnold's stuttering tone.

"Man, you sound so nervous. Are you sure you're gonna be ok? I can tag along and hide in the bushes, just like I did for you that one time during that Cecile incident."

Arnold chuckled, but shook his head no.

"Gerald, I think at 24 years old, I should be able to handle dates on my own, but thanks for the suggestion."

"No problem, dude. Hey, where did you say you were taking Helga again?"

"It's that really fancy five star restaurant just north of here. You know the one? La Couronne d'Or (1). Helga's been eying to try because—he made quotation symbols with his fingers, quoting is girlfriend's exact words—'according to the menu, the food looks awesome, but the prices are a bitch.'

Gerald laughed at this. As tough as she could be, Helga has a taste for fine dining. He often joked about how she needed to find a well paying job.

"Man, that place? Oh, that place is hella expensive! I can't believe you managed to get the money for that."

It was true. La Couronne d'Or was one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Hillwood.

"Yeah, well, I had help. Anyway, do you think you could come over for a bit? We can hang out while I get ready."

"Yeah, it's cool. No one is home right now, so I'll just die of boredom if I go over there now. Besides, I need to make sure that you don't look like a total dumbass for your big date."

Arnold rolled his eyes, but nonetheless smiled at Gerald's comment.

"Whatever you say, Gerald."

Meanwhile, the Hillwood West Shopping Mall, Helga and Phoebe were out looking for a new dress that Helga could wear for her date with Arnold.

Just as they were about to go into a shop, they heard a loud shriek. They both looked up to see none other than Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, running towards them in black stiletto high heels, her long black hair flowing behind her. She was frantically waving her newly French manicured nails at them.

Rhonda stopped in front of her friends, and began panting heavily.

"I'm…I'm here! Hold on, just…just let me…catch my breath."

Helga arched an eyebrow, and Phoebe giggled. Just an hour ago, Rhonda had texted Phoebe asking the girl if she wanted to hang out for a bit. Phoebe had texted back saying that she and Helga were at the mall, looking for a new dress for Helga to wear to her date with Arnold. When Rhonda read the words 'new date' and 'dress,' she informed Phoebe that she would be there in a flash, claiming that her "presence was required because this was a fashion emergency." And where there was fashion, there was Rhonda.

"Honestly Rhonda, if they had a high heeled long distance sprint at the Olympics, you should really think of joining."

Rhonda rolled her eyes, and began fixing her hair, smoothing it out, and then fluffing it up.

"Nice to see you too, Helga." The words, however, held no tone of annoyance in them.

"So, Rhonda, I see you made it here ok." Phoebe spoke.

Rhonda frowned.

"Yes, and let tell you, taking the bus when you have a car sucks. Like, royally. The only reason I couldn't drive it is because it needs to have something called an oil change. The bus system sucks, like, no joke. And to make matters worse, I swear that some old dude was making eyes at me. It was so repulsive I nearly gagged!"

The black haired woman slapped her hand to her forehead, and threw her head back.

Helga smirked.

"Gross! Are you serious?"

Rhonda nodded.

"Yes, Helga, dead serious. I would have rather made out with Curly."

Helga threw her head back and laughed.

"Wow! That bad, huh?"

The three women then made their way into the shop that Helga and Phoebe were about to venture into.

Rhonda began interrogating the life out of Helga: what color, length, cut and style. She also asked her what the name of the restaurant was, and when Helga told her, her eyes widened. Commoners like Helga and Arnold could barely even begin to afford to eat at that place, so it was a huge surprise to Rhonda.

In fact, Rhonda shifted into full gear as she pranced around the shop, pulling dresses down from practically everywhere.

When she returned, she had a pile of dresses in her arms, all different shades of pink, and dumped them right into Helga's unsuspecting arms.

"There's about 20 in there. Now, go try them on! Come on now, we don't have all day!"

The black haired woman began shoving Helga into a dressing room.

"You must come out and show us every single one! It's a rule when you're shopping with your girlfriends."

Helga rolled her eyes at Rhonda's claim, but nonetheless shut the door and began to look through the dresses.

She picked up one, and began to undress herself. Stepping into the dress, she pulled it up and reaches behind her to zip it up. She frowned when she saw her reflection in the mirror.

Within minutes, she heard Rhonda rapping on the door.

"Are you done yet? Hurry up!"

"Criminy, Rhonda! Will you hold on a second?!"

She opened the door, stepped out, and Rhonda and Phoebe's faces fell.

Phoebe was the only one who tried to make a nice comment.

"Well, it's uhm…it's a nice color, and…"

Rhonda: "Are you kidding? The dress does nothing for your figure, and that pink is way too dark for you. It practically clashes with your blonde hair. No, I simply cannot allow you to wear that…frock for another minute. Go try on another one."

Fifteen dresses later, and they still could not find the right one. There was one that Rhonda really liked, but Helga protested because it was way too short.

Helga picked up another dress that looked like it would do just fine. She slipped it on, looked at her reflection, and smiled.

When she walked out, Phoebe and Rhonda gasped.

Helga stood before them in the new dress.

Rhonda stood up and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh my god, that's it! You're buying it! No exceptions!"

Helga knew she was right. It was a beautiful dress, and she felt so…beautiful in it.

"Sure, it's beautiful, but let me see how much this thing costs." She picked up the price tag, and her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when she saw it.

"Yeah, you know what? It's not that beautiful."

Phoebe and Rhonda also set their eyes on the price tag of the dress.

"Wow, that is a lot of money. Helga, I don't think you can afford this!"

Rhonda rolled her eyes.

"It's not that much."

"Actually, Phoebes, I can afford it. I still have money saved up from all those part time jobs. My problem is do I want to spend this much on a dress that I am only going to wear once. And Rhonda, you have no room to talk. Money is never an issue with you."

"So? Who the hell cares? This is a special night, and you're going somewhere that dictates that you wear top notch clothing. Now go buy it!"

After much arguing, Rhonda won out in the end. Helga would never admit it, but she let her win. She really did want that dress. It was unusual for her to think so highly of anything to do with fashion, but there was something…special about it, like she should be the only one allowed to wear it.

Helga paid for the dress, grumbling about how her bank account was going to be in a lot of pain after a purchase like that.

It was then Rhonda's idea that they all go over to her house, where she would help Helga with her makeup, hair and nails.

/Scene Change: Arnold's Place/

Arnold looked himself over in the mirror, twisting and untwisting his aqua blue tie over and over again. So much in fact, that it was starting drive Gerald crazy.

"Dude…can you please stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That thing you're doing with your tie."

Arnold sighed.

"I just can't help it, Gerald. I mean, I've never been so nervous in my entire life!

Gerald smirked, folding his arms.

"Not even when you asked Pataki to be your girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah, but that was after she finally confessed how she felt.

It was true, Helga did finally confess how she felt, or rather, she was forced to. It was a few months after her parents' divorce was made official, and she should have double checked to see if she truly was alone when she started pouring out her admiration and devotion to Arnold behind the trashcan.

At first, she was mortified, and it was quite honestly the first time Arnold ever saw Helga begin to stutter uncontrollably. However, he told her that he has known for some time, but wanted to give her the option to admit it herself, rather than force it out of her from the very beginning. He also ensured her that while he couldn't accept her feelings right then and there; he refused to reject them as well. He wanted to get to know her a bit more, see the kind of person she really was. It wasn't entirely what Helga was suspecting, but it was a start to something wonderful.

Arnold's cell phone began to beep, and he took it out of his pocket to see that he had a text from Helga: I'm at Rhonda's, so come and meet me there.

He then looked at the time on the phone: 7:35. He had to hurry if they were to make their reservation, which was at 8 PM sharp.

Yes, Arnold made reservations at one of the fanciest restaurants in all of Hillwood. Made them a year in advance, that is. He only told Helga about it a week ago, and to say she was shocked was an understatement.

Arnold took one last look at his reflection before finally deciding that he was completely satisfied with it.

"Hey, uh…Gerald? Can I ask you a huge favor?"

Gerald: "Sure, man. What's up?"

"Well, do you…are you planning on using your car tonight? Because if not, I was wondering if…"

Gerald smiled.

"Go ahead and use it for as long as you need, but just bring it back by the end of the night."

Arnold smiled. He knew he could always rely on his best friend.

"Thanks, Gerald."

"And don't get any dents or scratch marks on it, either. That thing took months of savings to buy."

Gerald's most prize possession was his car. The only person he trusted to drive it was Arnold. Other than, you did not dare touch even the headlights.

He handed Arnold the car keys, and they both walked out of Arnold's room.

Arnold agreed to drop Gerald off at his place before picking Helga up from Rhonda's.

When he got there, he texted Helga to let her know that he had arrived.

Within minutes, he saw her stepping out the door.

He let out a silent gasp at what he saw.

Walking towards him was Helga Pataki looking in such a way that he had never seen before. Her dress was a rose quartz pink and was sweetheart cut, with pearl rhinestones running along the neck line. A modest slit ran up her dress showing just the right amount of thigh as she walked towards him, and on her feet were strappy white high heeled sandals. Her hair had brought up in a high pony tail and the ends had been tightly curled. On her fingers was a light shade of pink.

When she got closer, he noticed that she had taken the liberty to apply some mascara and a light shade of pink gloss on her lips.

In Arnold's eyes, she was the very picture of a goddess.

She smiled at him.

"Gonna catch files in your mouth if you keep letting it hang open like that, Football Head."

Arnold didn't even realize that his mouth was hanging open.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I….and you….you just look….so beautiful."

Helga let out a small chuckle.

"You had better think that even when I'm not all dolled up like this, Arnoldo, or we're going to have some serious problems.

She got into the car, and they drove off, ready to start this amazing night.

And that's chapter one. Chapter Two will be up shortly, hopefully by this weekend.

Also, according to Google Translator, the name of the restaurant translates to The Golden Crown. I really hope the translation is correct, and if not, anyone who is fluent, or fluent enough in French, please let me know so I can fix it.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!


	2. Chapter 2: A Night to Remember

Hey, everyone!

So, I decided to make this the official sequel to Rebuild a Foundation. I had to change the summary and the rating. Instead of T, this fic will be rated M for swearing, tobacco and alcohol use.

Originally, I was going to do something that made absolutely no sense: have A Gift be a mini sequel to Rebuild a Foundation, and then write an even bigger sequel to Rebuild a Foundation. But then I thought, "Hey, that makes no sense!" So, instead of going with my original plan, this story will be the official multi-chapter sequel to Rebuild a Foundation.

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

Thank you for the review!

Also, thank you for your response to my private message. It really helped.

Nep2uune:

Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like the story so far.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for reviewing.

To be honest, I was worried about how I was going to start this story. I can't wait to see how it develops, though!

Guest:

Thank you for reviewing my story.

Chapter Two: A Night to Remember

Chapter Two

Arnold and Helga walked along the town square, hand in hand, laughing their heads off.

"I mean, the look on that woman's face when I told her that she was eating bull testicles! Can you say, priceless?"

Arnold did have to agree that it was just downright hilarious.

A woman at the restaurant had no idea that testicules de bull (2) meant 'bull testicles,' even though both Arnold and Helga had no idea why, since it was so very obvious. She had called the waiter over to tell him to compliment the chef, and then proceeded to ask him exactly what she was eating. When the waiter proudly told her, she turned a nasty shade of green.

"Or how about the way she just spit it out right onto the waiter when she found out exactly what she was eating?"

"And then got kicked out for it?"

They both shared a laugh again.

The food at the restaurant was expensive, but the taste and quality lived up to every penny spent. Helga and Arnold couldn't believe just how tender their pork dishes were; the meat practically melted in their mouths!

Helga stopped walking and looked up at Arnold. She granted him a sweet and serene smile.

"This is been one of the best nights of my life, Arnold."

Arnold smiled back at her as well.

"Me too, Helga. Me too.

He felt himself moving closer and closer to her, and she did the same. Before long, their lips met, and they shared a passionate kiss full of love and devotion.

After what seemed like forever, they broke the kiss, and Helga sat down a nearby bench, and began to remove her shoes. The heels were really starting to kill her feet.

She placed her heels next to her on the bench, when suddenly, Arnold grabbed her hand, but did it with such tenderness that it shocked even her.

And the look in his eyes as green locked with blue, she couldn't describe it. All she knew was that the look he was giving her made her stomach jump and twist.

They were both silent, when finally Arnold was the one who chose to shatter that silence.

"Helga, you and I have…we've been together for quite some time now. I remember when I first met you, a sad and lonely girl who didn't feel loved and accepted by anyone. In time, that girl began to mercilessly bully me."

Helga frowned. Just where the hell was he going with this?

Arnold continued on with his speech.

Arnold: "But, also in that time, underneath that tough mask you wore every day, there was a girl, a girl who had the most beautiful heart that I have ever seen. It was that girl that fell deeply in love with, it was that girl that I cherished every waking moment while I was with her. And now, now I want to spend the rest of my life…with that girl."

He never broke him holding her hand, but got down on one knee. He reached into his coat, and pulled out a black velvet box.

He opened it, and Helga's jaw dropped. Inside was a white hold heart shaped pink diamond ring with two smaller diamonds on either side.

Arnold looked up at Helga once more, tears forming in her eyes, and smile, a huge smile, beginning to appear on her fair face.

"Helga Geraldine Pataki, I love you with all my heart. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?"

It only took seconds for Helga to shriek out yes, and throw herself into Arnold, knocking them both to the ground.

With the possibility of Helga getting her dress dirty, but she didn't care. The beauty of the dress was nothing compared to the state of happiness she was feeling in this very moment.

And, it only took seconds for the both of them to hear clapping and cheering.

Standing there was Gerald, Sid, Stinky, Rhonda and Phoebe. Both Phoebe and Rhonda were jumping up and down with utter happiness, and Stinky was holding up a video camera. Sid gave Arnold a thumbs up, and Gerald merely clapped his hands together.

"What? Wait, when did you guys get here?"

Gerald laughed.

"To be honest, we were all tailing you the entire time. When I told these guys that there was a very high possibility that you were planning to propose to Helga, well….nobody could pass up that moment."

"Ya finally did it, Arnold!" Stinky said.

"I knew you had it in you to take that extra step!" Sid chimed in.

Sid, Gerald Stinky crowded around Arnold, each one shaking his hand, congratulating him on his very new engagement. Rhonda and Phoebe also began congratulating Helga, and Rhonda began to chime in that she couldn't wait for the wedding, and appointed herself wedding planner for Helga.

As Helga and Arnold watched their friends talk about the wedding to be, they threw their heads back and laughed.

Then, Helga felt Arnold grab her arm, and whirl her around. Within seconds, her lips met hers, and she responded back with equal passion, wrapping her arms around her neck, him pulling her tightly against him.

Yes, this was the very beginning of something truly beautiful.

And that's the end for chapter two. Chapter three will hopefully be up soon, as I'm starting to come up with some plans for it, so stay tuned!

Also, once again, I used Google Translator, and I really hope it's not making me look like a damn fool with the translations.


	3. Chapter 3: Breaking the News Part one

Note: This chapter will be in two parts. For really long chapters, I may break them up into parts, but I haven't decided yet.

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

Thank you for reviewing.

I have heard that Google Translator isn't very reliable, but I didn't want to be totally off with French words, you know? I think I'm going to go ahead and buy a French to English dictionary, or something.

Nairobi-Harper:

Thanks for the review.

Lol, yes Arnold proposed. I figured that, going along with this story, they've been together for five years, they both have jobs (well, Arnold has a paid internship, and Helga also has a job, that will be explained in the first part of this chapter), they both live together, and they both love each other very much. I thought that those would be good reasons for Arnold to finally propose to Helga.

Guest:

Thank you very much for the review.

Well, yes, Helga will be smoking in this fic. She did so in my last story, Rebuild a Foundation. Also, she's 24, which is way over the legal smoking age.

Chapter Three: Breaking the News, Part 1

Helga placed the large bouquet of pink roses in the center of the table.

She leaned back to examine her work. She frowned, and began fidgeting with the roses, until she was completely satisfied with their appearance. They sat in a crystal clear vase, with a light pink ribbon wrapped around the vase. They had been a gift from Arnold when she woke up yesterday morning. There was no specific occasion, other than that the was, "celebrating his beautiful fiancé."

The dining room table had been covered with various foods. There was a large plate of waffles, a bowl of whipped cream and strawberries, maple syrup, as well as plates of fruit, eggs, bacon and various cheeses. A bottle of champagne and a pitcher of orange juice stood next to the bouquet.

She had gotten the idea of breaking the news to her dad and sister of her recent engagement over a home-made brunch. She didn't tell them why she was inviting them over to hers and Arnold's apartment, she just said for them to come at 10. Arnold's parents were also coming.

Helga prepared everything on the table, which meant that she had to get up very early to cook everything. When they had moved in, Helga insisted that she did the cooking. Although Arnold himself was a very good cook, he knew how much Helga loved cooking herself.

She felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her from behind, and a sweet kiss being placed on her cheek.

"You're finally up."

Arnold smiled.

"The smell of your waffles kept me from staying in bed."

"Even though you have the whole day off?"

Arnold nodded. Helga's fiancé was in the process of becoming a professional archeologist. His parents, Miles and Stella, had a great influence on his career choice, and he was still in the process of getting his doctorate. On top of school, he was also doing a paid internship down at the Hillwood Museum of Natural History.

Helga also had a job: she ran her own blog from home, called Musings of s Girl Genius (1). Helga posted poetry, recipes, photos and even wrote about controversial topics such as gay marriage and abortion. The blogging she did didn't pay much, but it was enough to help cover rent and bills.

"Anyway, everyone will be here in about an hour, so I'm going to get ready."

She kissed Arnold, and walked up the stairs, making her way to the shower. Arnold decided that he would take one after her.

Within 15 minutes, Helga was out of the shower. She quickly dried her hair with the hair dryer, and walked to hers and Arnold's bedroom, still wrapped up in her fluffy pink towel.

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and she saw Arnold walking towards her with a mischievous and seductive smile on his face.

They kissed passionately, and when she felt Arnold begin to remove her towel, she gently pushed him away.

"No way, Football Head! I just got out of the shower. I'm not getting dirty again."

Normally Helga did not pass up the chance of after shower sex. There was just something about having Arnold's still wet body being pressed up against her.

However, since they were expecting guests, she'd have to let him jump her later.

Arnold gave her a mock pout.

"Aww, it doesn't take that long to have sex!" He advanced on Helga again, and again, she playfully shoved him.

"Down, boy."

"Awww, come on. It would only take five minutes!"

Helga rolled her eyes, turned Arnold around, and began pushing him out the door.

"Shower. Now!" She laughed as she shoved him out the door.

She shoved him out their bedroom so he could hurry up and take a shower. Arnold merely shook his head and laughed.

Helga opened up her closet, and picked out a light pink tank top blouse with a black ribbon and white jeans. She also picked out a pair of cherry blossom earrings and necklace.

When she was ready, she inspected her reflection in their full length mirror and frowned. She normally didn't wear makeup, but decided for this event, a little bit of gloss might be called for.

Just then, Arnold walked in, with a towel wrapped around his waist, and smiled when he saw Helga.

"Hello there, beautiful."

Helga rolled her eyes and playfully smacked his arm.

Arnold decided on a pair of black slacks, and the light blue button down shirt that Helga got him for their two year anniversary (she also got him a couple of ties as well). t was a nice attire, and not to formal.

The door bell rang, announcing that their guests had arrived.

That is the end of Part One. Part Two should be up soon. I was going to upload both parts together, but I'm really tired, and I want to sleep. And besides, I'm going to the Cherry Blossom Festival with my boyfriend tomorrow morning (we're planning to leave by 8, but no later than 9, because parking in the city is a bitch).

Oh yeah, notes:

The Musings of a Girl Genius was actually taken from one of the episodes, but I cannot remember which one. Helga was talking about her poetry journals. However, instead of Musings, Helga called it, if I can remember correctly, "Poems of a Girl Genius." I thought "Musings of a Girl Genius" would be a perfect blog title for Helga.


	4. Chapter 3: Breaking the News Part 2

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you very much for the review.

And yes, I think that both Arnold and Helga would need more than five minutes. There won't be any lemons in this story. I haven't gotten to that point in my fanfic writing just yet, but maybe one day.

Guest:

Thanks for the review.

Probably be shocked and embarrassed, I would imagine.

Chapter Three: Breaking the News Part 2

Arnold's parents had been the first to arrive. Helga made sure to hide her engagement ring when she hugged Arnold's mom and dad. She didn't want them to see, not just yet. Olga and Bob had to be present as well.

Stella, Arnold's mom, gave Helga a huge hug.

"Helga, it's so nice to see you! And you look so grown up too!"

Helga smiled, and thanked her unknowing-soon-to-be-mother-in-law.

"Where's Arnold?" Stella asked, looking around for her only son.

"Hi, mom!"

Arnold came down the stairs, and Stella rushed to greet her son. Miles, Arnold's father also hugged his kid.

"So, is anyone else coming?"

"Helga's dad, and older sister, Olga."

At the mention of Olga's name, the doorbell rang, and Helga rushed to open the door. Standing there was her dad and sister.

The wind was knocked out of Helga has her sister launched herself at her in a hug.

"Baby sister! I haven't seen you in weeks! How are you doing? Oh my god, look at your outfit! You look great, Helga!"

Helga rolled her eyes, but nonetheless returned the hug from her sister.

"Great to see you too, Olga."

The two sisters had gotten closer as Helga grew older. Olga would sometimes ask Helga if she wanted to go out for drinks every now and then, and Helga would gladly accept. They would talk about their jobs, their relationships, and just about anything, really.

Bob also went over to hug his daughter. His relationship with Helga had also greatly improved.

"Dad, Olga, I want to introduce you to a couple of people. These are Arnold's parents. Miles, Stella, this is my dad, and this is my sister, Olga."

Bob and Miles shook hands.

"It's very good to meet you Bob, Olga."

Bob smiled.

"Feelings mutual."

"Ok then, I've prepared brunch, so why don't we all go and sit down?"

"Helga, you made brunch? I didn't know you liked to cook. Every time we asked you to help with Thanksgiving Dinner, you always tried to find some way out of it."

"Yeah, well, change of mind, I guess."

"Oh, you are just so full of surprises, baby sister!"

'You have no idea, Olga,' Helga thought as she shook her head, You have no idea.'

They all made their way to the table, and sat down.

"So, Bob, what do you do for a living?"

"Well, I sell beepers and cell phones. I just signed a deal with Flag Staff Tech(1) and they said they would be willing to sell some of my products."

"Big Bob's Beepers…is that the one?" Stella spoke up, her hand holding a fork covered in waffles.

"Sure. Been runnin' that baby since before Olga and Helga were born."

"I knew that name sounded familiar," Miles replied, wiping his mouth with a white cloth napkin, " I recently bought a cell phone from your online website. Got a great deal for it, too, when I purchased one for Stella."

"Ah, you got the buy one, get one half off deal, did you?"

"Yes, and so far Stella and I love them."

Stella turned to her son, eager to ask him how everything was going on in his life.

"So, Arnold, how's school going for you?" Arnold shrugged a bit.

"Oh, you know, mom. It's been going great, but it's, well…it's a lot of work."

"That's what happens when you become an archeologist. Hey, Helga, Arnold told me that you also have a job running your own blog. How's that going?"

"It's actually going really good," Helga replied, piling whipped cream onto her waffled. I just finished a post on why William Shakespeare's villainous portrayal of Richard III was highly debatable."

"That sounds really fascinating, Helga," Olga said, "didn't you also write a post not too long ago about how…oh, what was it called? Uhm….something about Superior Chic Magazine (2) and plus sized women?"

"You mean, why Super Chic Magazine shouldn't be supported because they refuse to hire women who are above a size 2?"

"Yes! That's the one!"

Stella's eyes lit up.

"Now, I'm interested. What got you to write about that, Helga?"

"Well, to be honest, I was checking the local news, and I came across an article about a woman who had been denied a position at Superior Chic because she was a size 14, and I guess it just pissed me off." Arnold began to chuckle.

"Oh, I remember that. Helga, you couldn't stop talking about it for days. Every time you saw a copy of that magazine I had to hold you back from ripping it to shreds."

"Hey! It wasn't even about her dress size, it was also the fact that she interned with several other fashion magazines, so she obviously had experience, and she still wasn't hired."

The group ended up in a long conversation about workers rights, appearance and discrimination. When they decide that they could eat no more, Helga began clearing the plates.

As she was putting them in the sink (the rest had gone into the living room to chat some more), Arnold walked up to her.

"You know, now would be a good time to break the news.

Helga paused for a moment. Then,

"Got it. You get the glasses, I'll get that fancy champagne you bought at the store."

"But, didn't everyone have champagne at brunch?"

"Aww, what's one more glass or two gonna do?"

When the champagne glasses were filled, Helga and Arnold walked out to the living room, and handed each guest a glass.

"Arnold, Helga, what is all this?"

"Geez Helga, trying to get us all drunk?"

Helga smirked, but shook her head. She stood next to Arnold, her own glass held against her chest.

Arnold cleared his throat, as he put an arm around Helga's waist.

Arnold: "Everyone, Helga and I have a very important announcement to make."

He looked at Helga, indicating that it was her turn to speak.

"Football Head here finally gathered up the guts to proposed to me."

There was silence, and then…

A chorus of cheers. Olga ran up and tackle hugged her sister, nearly spilling both their champagnes. Miles profusely congratulated his son, and Stella had tears of joy running down her face.

Bob also hugged his daughter, after Helga finally managed to pry a happily sobbing "my baby sister is getting married," Olga off of her.

"You did good, kid. I want you to know just how lucky you are to have my daughter."

Helga's eyes widened.

"Why does something tell me that you knew about this before anyone else did?"

Bob laughed.

"Are you kidding? The boy did right by asking my blessing first. I did the same thing when I was ready to get married. Always follow tradition, is what I say."

"Arnold, sweetie, how come you didn't tell your father and I?"

Arnold smiled.

"Honestly, mom, I thought that a surprise was the best way to tell you guys."

"Well, we're all very happy for you, son. Both you and Helga. Your mother and I couldn't be prouder."

There were more hugs and more congratulations, and then all the guests started filling out. Olga had asked Helga is she wanted to do dinner sometime before she left with Bob, and Helga happily agreed.

Helga walked back into the kitchen to finish up the dishes.

As she washed the plates, she stopped to look at her engagement ring. She smiled, thinking about how she was the luckiest girl in the world.

She was about to be the wife of the boy she loved for so many years. Life honestly, couldn't have been more perfect.

Notes:

1: A made up company. I actually used a business name generator. I can't tell you how many times I typed in something with the word Tech, only to find that the company name I had chosen was already taken.

2: A made up magazine, as far as I know.


	5. Chapter 4: Planning the Wedding

Chapter Four: Planning the Wedding

Helga sat at her laptop on hers and Arnold's bed, currently looking for possible venues. She would run them by Arnold when he got home from his internship.

She and Arnold had talked a couple of nights ago, and decided that they wanted their wedding to be a spring time Wedding. The date they had chosen was April 15. Helga had told him that she was fine with any other month, but June.

"It's too clichéd, " she had told him, "I don't want to be a 'June bride.' Practically everybody does that!" Sure, June was a nice month, but Helga wasn't one for clichés. That, or the cliché had to be a damn good one for her to even consider it.

Arnold had happily agreed, and they both decided that a spring wedding was perfect to celebrate the two of them coming together.

They had also decided that they wanted an outdoor wedding.

She typed in, 'out door venues for wedding," and clicked 'search.'

A list of various venues in, around and near Hillwood popped up. A look of interest crossed her face when she saw one, and she clicked on it.

"Rosewick Manor (1), "Helga read out loud, "is a beautiful abode that was built in 1887 by Edward Rosewick, and was a wedding gift to his wife, Mary. The house today is owned by John Rosewick, the great-great-great grandson of Edward, and is frequently used for events such as weddings, both outdoor and indoor.

There was a link to a picture gallery, and Helga clicked on it.

The first picture was of the manor. Helga had to admit it was quite beautiful. The manor was an eggshell white with blue accents. It also boasted two towers and Helga could even count 15 windows, and that was just the front.

There was another link that read, 'gardens.' Helga downloaded the image of the manor, before deciding to see the gardens.

Staring back at her was large grove of flowering cherry trees surrounding a wide empty space. To the left of the trees was a small pond that Helga could see had koi fish in it. A red bridge went over the pond. Hanging from the trees were white paper lantern lights. To the right of the trees was a brick walkway leading up to a white gazebo.

Interested in this being a possible wedding venue, Helga snatched her pen and wrote down the name, number and address of the manor. She already had five possible venues listed.

She then opened up her e-mail, and began typing a message to Olga, Rhonda, Phoebe, Nadine, Sheena and Big Patty.

"Hey guys," Helga spoke as she typed, "dress shopping is happening this Saturday at 2 PM. I've already made reservations at Genovese Bridal (2). Be there, and don't be late!"

She hit the send button.

"Let's see, and then I have to meet with the florist, and then Arnold and I have to go cake tasting. Oh, and we also need to go and check out these venues that I wrote down."

Helga sighed. Apparently, weddings were a lot of work. But, she enjoyed doing it.

Just then, the doorbell rang, indicating that Arnold was home. Helga closed her laptop, and rose off the bed to go and greet him. It was Friday, and that meant that it was mojito night for the two of them.

And, after an eight hour day at the internship (it was already 6 in the evening), Helga knew that Arnold would want a strong one.

Sorry chapter four is so short. Chapter five won't be uploaded until next weekend.

Nadine, Sheena, Rhonda, Phoebe and Big Patty will all be making a few appearances in this story. I'm going to go back and re-watch episodes of Hey Arnold to study their characters.

Notes:

1: The made up name of a large fancy house.

2: The made up name of a bridal store.


	6. Chapter 5: The Perfect Dress

Review Responses:

Guest:

Thank you for reviewing my story.

Lol, to be honest, I haven't thought about what Helga's career ambition would be. I'd imagine that it would have something to do with writing, though.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for the review.

I think you're right in saying that if Bob was willing to talk to Arnold about him (Arnold) marrying Helga, then that does indicate that Bob has improved has a person.

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for your review.

And yes, Arnold did the traditional thing and asked Helga's father. I'm already thinking about writing a one shot for that

Chapter Five: The Perfect Dress

Helga parked against the curb in front of Phoebe's house, and honked her horn, indicating that she had arrived.

She was in no mood to deal with lateness, or any other bullshit.

About two minutes later, Phoebe appeared.

"Ready to go wedding dress shopping, Helga?" Phoebe asked as she got into the car.

Helga groaned as she pulled away from the curb and drove off.

"Helga, what's wrong?"

"I am so fucking tired Phoebes. Do you want anything from Bill's Coffee Joint (1), because I need a strong one."

"But, Helga! The appointment is in exactly 30 minutes. Shouldn't we take care of that first?"

Helga glared at her best friend, hinting that she shouldn't push it.

"Phoebe, I was up till five in the morning, and I woke back up again at 7, and couldn't go back to sleep. Coffee first, dress later, damnit!"

Bill's Coffee Joint was a drive through coffee joint, which honestly suited Helga just fine. She didn't have time to wait in a line, the coffee here was cheap, and was made very fast.

Within minutes she had her extra large strawberry crème latte with ten pumps of chocolate, three pumps of espresso and whipped cream in her hands. Phoebe had ordered a simple chai tea.

When they got to the bridal shop, she noticed that Rhonda, Sheena, Big Patty and Nadine were already there, waiting for them.

"Hey Helga, congratulations on your engagement." Patty hugged the blonde. Both Sheena and Nadine also congratulated her.

They walked inside, and were introduced by a woman wearing a black pantsuit.

"Hello, welcome to Genovese Bridal. My name is Ashley, and how can I help you today?"

"Yeah, hi. My name Is Helga Pataki, I called just last week about 2:00 appointment. "

Ashley's eyes lit up.

"Oh yes, you were the one who called about shopping for a wedding gown."

Helga nodded.

"Well then, come with me. I will have my assistant get you girls some champagne."

They followed Ashley, and were lead to a large pale pink room. There were several white chairs, and a small stage for the bride to stand on. In front of the stage was a large full length mirror. In the back of the room was a large dressing room.

Ashley's assistant, a blonde haired woman wearing the same outfit, appeared with a tray of champagne filled glasses.

Ashley turned to face Helga.

"Now, what exactly are you looking for?"

"Definitely something simple, yet elegant and sophisticated. A little beading here and there is ok, but nothing too busy. I also want something that's form fitting, with a sweetheart neckline. Straps are ok, but none of that frilly ball gown stuff. I also want something with pink in it. Not hot pink, but pale pink, like those cherry blossom flowers, or something." Helga responded

Ashley blinked.

"You know what? I think we have a few items that fit your description. Have a seat, and I will right back with some items."

Nadine turned towards Helga.

"So, Helga. Arnold finally proposed, huh?"

Helga nodded.

"Yup, sure did. Honestly, after waiting for five years, a part of me thought he was never going to propose. Boy can sure take a long ass time when it comes to things like this."

Sheena nodded.

"Five years does seem like a long time."

"Better to take it slow, than to rush in and have it end up in…well….you know." Phoebe piped in.

Helga rolled her eyes.

"Don't be afraid to say the word, 'divorce' Phoebes. I can handle it."

"By the way Helga, I was sorry to hear that your parents got divorced. That must have really sucked." Big Patty added

Helga waved her hand.

"Honestly? Them staying together would have sucked even more. Some people just aren't meant to be together, and my parents were…well, they were nothing more than a statistic. Anyway, I really don't want to talk about that right now, or like…ever. This is my day, so the d-word, will not be allowed. Capiche?"

Mentioning anything about her parents' divorce was something that Helga never liked doing. She didn't understand why people were still apologizing, even after five years. Did they think that offering sympathy would fix anything? Some people just weren't meant to be together, and it was simple as that.

The girls nodded, all respecting Helga's wishes to not talk about her parents Rhonda put her glass down on a nearby table and reached into her purse for something. When she found it, she began to file her nails.

Within minutes, Ashley was back.

"I found about…five dresses. I can also show you our catalogue if you like, and we can order any dress for you. Just so you know, we have a ten day return policy, but only if the dress does not appear to be damaged in any way."

Helga nodded in understanding.

"I put your dresses in your dressing room. If the lucky bride to be would just follow me, I will help you with the gowns."

Helga took a final sip, before getting up to follow Ashley.

When they got into the dressing room, Helga started to undress until she was in her bra and panties (Ashley had left Helga to do this alone). When she was ready, Ashley came back in, and helped Helga put on the first dress.

She walked out, and stood up on the stage, only to see her bridesmaids shake their heads.

"The design is very beautiful Helga, but…"

"But it's way too big on top. So, you have two options: pay for alterations or pay for implants." Rhonda piped, in cutting Sheena off.

"You do know that both of those cost money, Rhonda? And to be honest, I'm not liking this dress. I can't see myself walking down the aisle in it?"

"Well, you should get that rush of 'this is the one.' At least, that's what I've heard."

"Ok so, this dress is a no."

Helga shook her head, and walked back into the dressing room to try on another choice.

When she came out, the reaction of her bridesmaids was pretty much the same.

"Helga, you look like you can barely walk in that."  
"It does feel a little too tight."

"Well, at least your boobs fit that one. Plus, you do look better in this one than the other."

"Rhonda, you may believe in the whole beauty is pain crap, but I'd rather not risk ripping my dress."

"Ok then. In that case, let's see the next one."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find one that's just perfect. I remember when I went shopping for my wedding dress. Took me three weeks to find the right one. Sometimes these things take a while." Ashley said.

And so, Helga went back to the dressing room. She tried on dress after dress, but could not find the perfect one.

This was starting to really piss her off. How hard was it to find a damned wedding dress? Sure, she wanted to look beautiful, radiant and elegant at her wedding. She wanted to watch her guests look at her with happiness. She wanted Arnold's jaw to drop, and to silently whisper in awe about how beautiful she was.

She sighed as she remembered Olga buying a wedding gown when she was about to get married to that con artist Doug (2). What was taking Helga hours, only took Olga a few minutes.

Then again, Olga was so excited to get married, that Helga could have sworn she would have been fine wearing a potato sack that had been painted white.

But, there wasn't any point to thinking about this. The marriage never even happened, and to this day, Olga still didn't know the truth behind Doug's departure.

She began dressing in her regular clothes: blue jeans and a pink tank top, still frustrated that she could not find a dress.

Then, she got an idea.

"Hey, Ashley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for helping me, but I was just wondering. Uhm, could I look around the store myself to see if I find anything?"

Ashley nodded, telling Helga that it was perfectly ok..

And so, Helga wandered through the maze of dresses. They were all very beautiful, but none of them seemed to call out to her.

She made her way over to a rack, and began shifting through the plastic covers.

She let out a small growl, clearly perturbed, when suddenly, something caught her eye.

Helga removed the item from the rack, and began looking at the measurements.

"Hm…this could actually work." Of course, she could barely see the dress inside the plastic, but something was telling her to try it on. She didn't know why, but she could sense that there was something special about what she was holding.

She walked over to Ashley, and asked her if she could try on just one more dress.

Ashley nodded, and told Helga she would help her try it on.

When they got into the dressing room, Ashley unzipped the plastic cover.

They removed the dress, and Ashley began helping Helga try it on.

When they were done, Helga walked out of the dressing room to model herself in front of her bridesmaids.

But, as Helga stepped onto that small stage, her mind wasn't focused on what her bridesmaids were saying, but on her very reflection staring back at her.

The dress she had chosen was, to Helga, an artistic masterpiece. The diamond white organza gown sported her much preferred sweetheart neckline. The neckline trailed down to the bodice of the dress, which had been decorated with tiny pearls and crystal beads that ran over the breasts in simple floral designs, and cascaded down to the asymmetrical waistline that hugged her hips. The waistline flared out at the bottom. The organza fabric had been wrapped around the skirt of the dress, only to be slightly raised and fastened with a series of large crystal rhinestones which came just a little above Helga's knee. The dress even had pale pink undertones

Rhonda had been the first one to break Helga out of her trance.

"Well, ladies, I think our bride to be finally found her dress."

Phoebe smiled brightly.

"Helga, that dress has you written all over it." Big Patty announced.

Ashley also nodded in agreement.  
They were right, but Helga could scarcely believe it. Was that really her, standing there in such a beautiful dress? Perhaps this was all dream, and she was about to wake up.

"This…can't possibly be me. I…I have to be dreaming."

She didn't know that she was speaking her thoughts out loud, until she felt something pinch her arm. She winced, and looked over to see Rhonda, smirking.

"Back to reality, Helga. You aren't dreaming."

Helga shook her head.

"I just…never thought I'd look good in a dress."

Helga also never thought that she would be so adamant about wearing the perfect dress. She hated anything that she considered to be girly, too feminine or too flouncy and frilly.

But, she also had to admit, that she really, really liked how she looked in this dress.

"So, are you going to get it?"

Helga nodded. There were no words needed. This dress was clearly made for her, and she loved it.

After slipping it off and getting back into her own clothes, Ashley announced that the store gave 20% off for all new comers, which brought the price of the dress down to a pretty reasonable amount, but it was still pretty costly.

But, Helga did not care. She got the dress that she wanted.

Now, all she had to do was hide it well enough so that Arnold would not see it until the actual day of the wedding.

Notes:

Made up coffee shop.

Refer to episode, "Olga Get's Engaged."


	7. Chapter 6: Out with Olga

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for reviewing.

To be honest, making things up can be such a pain in the ass. You have to make sure that you're not using somebody else's name or idea. I'd rather not get into legal trouble, you know?

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for the review.

I'm glad you liked the chapter. I wish I could have put more emotion into Helga. But, I've never gone shopping for wedding gowns, so I have yet (hopefully) to see what it feels like.

Guest:

Thanks for reviewing me story.

She's not mad at him, per say. If anything, it's actually common (and normal) for women who really want to get married to get antsy and impatient while wondering if their partner will ever pop the question.

Chapter six: Out with Olga

Helga walked into a red and black colored room, when she saw her sister Olga, sitting on a red velvet cushion, waving to her frantically.

Helga smiled, and made her way over to her sister, and sat down across from her

"Helga! I'm glad you could make it!" Olga exclaimed, giving her little sister a hug.

"Yeah, no problem. Ugh, this wedding stuff is giving me a headache. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's fun and all, it really is, but I really needed a break."

Olga nodded. Although her own marriage never actually, or officially happened, she at least got a feel for how much work planning a wedding was.

"I understand. How's Arnold?"

"Oh, Football Head? He's doing good. He's in the middle of studying for an exam right now. I decided to leave him alone for a while."

Olga nodded, before flagging down a waitress.

"One glass of white wine for me, please and—Helga, what would you like?"

"Eh….get me a dirty vodka martini."

The waitress nodded, and walked away to prepare their drinks.

"I'm really sorry I wasn't able to come with you when you were shopping for your dress, Helga. My work wouldn't let me leave, and Carter (1) and I, well, we need the money."

Helga waved her hand dismissively.

"Don't even worry about it, Olga."

Olga smiled, pleased that her sister understood her situation.

Olga has been dating Carter ever since her parents had gotten the divorce. He was a very nice guy, and both her parents and Helga really liked him.

"By the way Helga, did you ever find a dress?"

Helga's eyes lit up.

"As a matter of fact, I did. Here, I took a picture of it with my cell phone. "

Helga reached into her purse, pulled out her phone, and went to her pictures app. She began scrolling through the images, when she came across the one for her dress.

She handed the phone to Olga, who smiled brightly when she saw the dress.

"Oh, Helga! That is absolutely beautiful!"

Helga nodded.

"Of course, Arnold isn't allowed to see it just yet. He has to wait until the day of the wedding. I've gone and picked out a list of venues, but we need to go look at them first."

"Which ones have you picked out?"

"Well, I found one called Rosewick Manor, which is about three miles outside of Hillwood. They have a very beautiful landscape, and a gazebo in which Arnold and I could get married under, if we chose this place to be our venue."

Olga's eyes widened.

"It sounds to me like you don't want to get married inside a church, Helga. That's what I—well, almost did."

Helga nodded.

"Yeah, and that's fine, Olga, and it's still cool if you're into that thing. Arnold and I, well—we both find churches nice, don't get me wrong. However, at the same time, there's something stiff and serious about churches. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I know I don't want to be married in a church, and Arnold doesn't really want to either. Furthermore, we both don't believe that getting married in a church doesn't make the joining together in matrimony and stuff like that any more or less important or official."

Olga took some time to process her sister's words. Helga had never been one for traditions, or following the norms. She was the type of person to scold trends, refusing with every will power she had to fit in with society. Olga would readily admit that she was the type of person to follow society and what was deemed acceptable and appropriate, but with Helga, what you see is what you get.

Then, Olga smiled at her sister, causing Helga to look at her weirdly.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Olga laughed, when the waitress brought them their drinks.

"Oh, nothing. You've just grown up a lot, baby sister. In fact, even though you'll always be my baby sister, I don't feel like I can call you that anymore. You're no longer the ornery, hot-headed child you once were. You've become much more mature."

Helga shrugged.

"Well, you're not too bad yourself, Olga. I'll admit that there was a time when I couldn't stand you. I'd like to take this time now to tell you that I never ever hated you, even though I sure as fuck acted like I did. I guess I was just jealous of all the attention you were getting from our parents. But, I'm glad we've decided to do more as sisters, and stop being complete strangers to each other."

"I'm glad to, Helga. By the way, have you decided on your wedding party yet?"

Helga took a sip of her martini.

"As a matter of fact, Arnold and I have. Gerald is going to be Arnold's best man, and Sid, Stinky, Curly, Harold and Eugene are all going to be groomsmen. I've got Rhonda, Big Patty, Sheena and Nadine as bridesmaids, and you and Phoebe as maids of honor. "

Olga blinked

"Really? You're having two maids of honor?"

Helga shrugged.

"Yeah, so what?"

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that, well, most people only have one."

Helga smirked at her sister's words.

"Feh! That may be true, Olga. However, this is my wedding, and I'll do whatever the fuck I want with it. And if that means having two maids of honor, then I'll jolly damn well have two maids of honor."

Olga's eyes narrowed, but not out of anger or any other negative emotion. For a while, she contemplated what she was going to say.

Then, she just decided to come out and say it.

"Helga, I know you don't like to talk about this, but…I really think mom would be very proud of you, if she knew you were getting married."

Helga merely just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, that's nice, but Miriam isn't here. I know you've been keeping in contact with her, and that's great, but I have no intentions of tracking her down, nor does she deserve to know that I'm getting married."

"But Helga,"

Helga held up her hand, silencing her sister.

"I've already made up my mind, Olga. In fact, I made up my mind the second I heard that woman say she didn't want me. I have no real desire to be associated with someone who would rather blame others than take responsibility for their own actions. If it makes you feel any better though, I no longer hate Miriam. I've honestly been trying to put my negative feelings for her in the past. I can't say I've forgiven her, but I do know one thing: I will make sure that I never, ever turn out the way she did."

Olga said nothing, but merely nodded. She knew that if Helga did not want to have any contact with their mother, then it was strictly her choice.

And Helga did not like, or take kindly to being forced to do anything. People who tried that usually ended up learning the hard way.

Helga took another sip of her martini, downing it completely. Since she had to drive home in a little bit, she decided it would be best to stick to one drink. If she wanted more, she could always just open up the bottle of wine in the fridge.

"Anyway, enough about Miriam. I actually have to get going, anyway. I need to make some rough drafts of the invitations, before going to the print shop and having them made. But, whenever you're free again, just shoot me a text." Olga nodded, finishing her wine.

"I should get going as well. I have to get up early for work tomorrow morning. Are you sure you're ok to drive?"

Helga smirked.

"Oh, trust me. It takes a lot more than just one martini to get me drunk. I may not look it, but I can hold my liquor pretty damn well. I owe that fact from having so many drinking contests with Harold and Stinky when I turned 21."

Olga then followed Helga out of the door.

When they got to Helga's car, Olga hugged her sister goodbye, and then left.

Helga then drove off, eager to tell Arnold all about her night.

Maybe she could get him to take a quick break from studying, for a little bit of…fun.

Helga couldn't help but smirk as very dirty thoughts filled her mind.

And that's chapter six. Chapter seven will hopefully be up by this weekend, but no promises. I'm in the last week or so until I graduate.

Notes:

Olga's boyfriend. He won't be appearing in the story, except maybe in the chapter where Helga and Arnold get married, but that won't happen for a while.


	8. Chapter 7: Small Moments

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank for the review. And yes, Arnold wanting an outdoor wedding kind of does make sense.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

Thank you for reviewing my story. Also, I don't think Olga would be stupid enough to do that.

Guest:

Thank you for the review. Also, the royal family thing? Probably because tradition. However, not everyone wants to get married in a church.

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for your review. I'm glad you liked how the divorce was brought up.

Chapter Seven: Small Moments

Helga was in the middle of finishing up an e-mail to her bridesmaids and two maids of honors, when Arnold called out to her from upstairs that he wanted to leave in ten minutes.

"Just a second, Arnold. I'm almost done!" She called out to her fiancé.

"I'm leaving it up to you to go and buy the dresses you'll need. I've included a picture of the dress, as well as the address of the store. I called them up, and they have the dress in stock. If any adjustments need to be made, that'll be your responsibility as well." Helga read her e-mail.

Helga had spent all night looking for bridesmaids dresses. She knew she didn't want one of those floor length ones, but a simple knee length one would have done just as nicely. She also knew that it had to be pink, with no exceptions.

Not only that, but she put both Rhonda and Big Patty on dress patrol. If they saw anyone wearing all white, they would be either be forced to change or be removed from the wedding. It sounded a little extreme, but wedding rules were rules: you do not outshine the bride.

Besides, Helga would have had a conniption if she saw anybody wearing anything similar to a wedding dress. Wearing all white to a wedding was a big no-no.

She also managed to keep cost and mind, and often felt herself wanting to tear the eyes of out of brides who expected their bridesmaid to pay hundreds of dollars for a dress they would only wear once. "Typical, greedy, selfish bitches," is what she called them, "I mean, seriously. Who the hell would pay that much money for a dress?"

Ok, so she paid that much money for a dress, but that didn't count.

Then, she finally found the perfect dress for her bridesmaids It was a cherry blossom one shoulder chiffon dress that stopped at the knees. A black silk ribbon ran along the waist of the dress. The dress also came with a black satin shawl. Helga fell instantly in love it, and decided that this was going to be the dress her bridesmaids would wear.

In fact, Helga decided that the main theme of the wedding would be pink. Arnold was fully supportive of this, and after much talking, they both thought that the perfect colors to use were pink, brown, light blue and mint green. They were spring-time colors, which fit the theme of the wedding.

"Ok, Football Head, let's go!"

Helga hit the send button, and closed her laptop. She grabbed her pink blazer and car keys.

Today was the day that Helga was hoping they would find the right venue. She and Arnold had already looked over four out of the five she listed out. While they were nice, the venues didn't call out to Helga and Arnold.

The last one was Rosewick Manor. Helga had shown Arnold the photos she had downloaded. Arnold agreed that it was a very nice place, and they both decided to pay it a visit.

"So, how long is the drive?" Arnold asked.

He was coming down the stairs, stuffing his cell phone in his pocket. Helga shrugged.

"About….an hour. Hey, do you think that might be too far for people to drive?"

Helga was all about having her wedding done her way. However, she did take Arnold's thoughts into consideration, and had no problem with incorporating his ideas. She also wanted to make sure that the venue wasn't too out of the way.

In the end however, it was Helga's and Arnold's choice.

Arnold shrugged as well.

"Maybe a little bit. But, I'm sure we can work something out."

Helga nodded, and she and Arnold made their way to her car. She insisted that she drove, which Arnold had no problem with, but offered to share the driving with her. She would drive to the place, and he would drive back.

"You know, according to the website of the place we're going to, guests are allowed to stay there." She said, as they got into her car.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was thinking. It might be easier for everyone to book a room. That way, nobody would have to drive all the way there."

Arnold nodded. It did make sense.

Then, he thought of something.

"You do make a good point, but there is something else we need to take into consideration. Finances. Your bridesmaids are paying for their own dresses, shoes and all that other stuff, right? Didn't you also want them to get their nails done? Making them pay for a room would cost more money."

Helga's face grew concerned, as she turned on the car, and backed out of the parking space they had been assigned. He too had a good point. A night at Rosewick Manor couldn't have been cheap.

"Well, I told my bridesmaids that actually getting their nails done, you know, polish and all that jazz, was optional. But, it's mandatory that their nails are clean, trimmed and filed. They don't have to go all out if they don't want to, but their nails have to look presentable."

Arnold nodded. That did make sense.

"What about hair and makeup?"

Helga shook her head.

"Getting those done by a professional costs bank, Arnold. I put Rhonda on hair and make –up duty. I assigned her the task of looking up hair styles and wedding looks. Of course, she'll have to run them all by me. Knowing Rhonda though, I'm sure she'll…..oh, come on! It's a green light, SO FUCKING MOVE IT!"

Arnold rolled his eyes and smirked. Helga was a pretty good driver, but her road rage was something she needed to work on.

As for Helga? Well, she couldn't stand stupid drivers.

"Why. Is. This. Idiot. Stopped. At. A Green. Light?"

"Well, maybe he…"

"Oh that's why. The douche bag is on his cell phone. HEY DOUCHEBAG! GET OFF YOUR FUCKING PHONE! SOME OF US HAVE PLACES TO BE, YOU MORON!"

Sure enough, the driver in the red car in front of them was on his cell phone. He was so engaged with his text messages, that he didn't see the light turn green about two minutes ago. Not even the angry honking from the cars brought him out of his trance.

That is, until Helga Pataki decided that she had had enough. They had a two o'clock appointment at the venue, and it was already 12:45. If this asshole made them late, they would be very sorry.

So, Helga took matters into her own hands. She slammed her hand down on her car horn, and held it there for 30 seconds. The sound was so loud; Arnold immediately clapped his hands to his ears.

But, it worked. The driver in the red car finally took the hint and pulled forward, and off to the side against a curb.

Cue much honking and the use of the middle finger.

"I swear, some people." Helga muttered as she drove through the intersection.

Arnold could only shake his head and laugh.

"What the hell's so funny?" Helga gifted him with a weird look.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that, you have such an authoritative way about you, I'd suggest you go into law enforcement."

This time, it was Helga's turn to smirk, as she took the turn off announced by the GPS on her phone.

"Now that you mention it, I had a dream once were I was the President of the United States."

Arnold's eyes widened.

"Really? You never told me that."

"Yep. In fact, it was around the time when Rhonda introduced that origami marriage predictor."

Arnold frowned as he tried to remember that little gadget of Rhonda's. Then, he burst out laughing.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I got so freaked out when it predicted that I would marry you! I mean, it said so every time I took the test!"

"Well, the test must have been right, because you're stuck with me, now!"

Arnold gingerly took Helga's hand.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way."


	9. Chapter 8: What The!

Chapter Eight: What The?!

Helga set her eyes on a carton of tofu at the supermarket. She was looking over an Asian cook book that Olga gave her for Christmas, and found a tofu and noodle hot pot that she wanted to attempt. Helga didn't know much about this tofu stuff, but had heard from Sheena that it was delicious and healthy.

She shrugged, before placing two cartons in her hand held basket.

Just yesterday, Helga and Arnold had visited the last venue on their list, Rosewick Manor. After viewing the grounds, they both decided that Rosewick Manor was the perfect destination for the wedding.

During the ride over, the issue of cost had some up. Helga believed that it would be more efficient for everybody to book rooms at the manor. She argued that it would save time and gas money, which Arnold had to agree with. However, the football head brought up his own concerns of how much it cost to spend a night at Rosewick.

Sure enough, just hearing the price gave Helga and Arnold mental images of overdraft fees and burning wallets.

Then, Helga had an idea. It was very convenient that the current owner was wearing a beeper from none other than Big Bob's Beepers. With a smirk on her face, and a light bulb over her head, Helga took it upon herself to inform the owner that she was the daughter of the man who owned Big Bob's Beepers, and even made the man a compromise. She even used his desire for publicity to her own advantage. Apparently, Rosewick Manor wasn't well known.

"You know, I can easily convince my dad to have one of his commercials shot right here at Rosewick Manor. Just think about it! Your beautiful home, shown on national television. I'll even write positive articles on this place in my blog, which by the way, is starting to go viral. All you have to do is grant my entire wedding party a 50% discount." She told him.

The owner admitted he was a sucker for good deals, and the agreement was made.

When Helga told Bob what she did, he admitted that it was an ingenious plan. When she told him of her second plan that she mentioned to the owner of Rosewick Manor, he had to say that he was quite impressed: sign up for a cell phone and/or beeper plan with Big Bob's Beepers, and get 20% off a stay at Rosewick Manor. It would bring Big Bob's Beeper's money, and publicity for the owner of Rosewick.

Helga had to admit that it was a pretty damn good plan. She had always had a way with convincing people.

Maybe a career in politics wouldn't be such a bad idea.

She had even bragged to her bridesmaids of her recent scheme, and everyone was highly impressed, especially Rhonda.

Helga pulled out her shopping list from her purse.

"Ok, so next I need…enoki and shitake mushrooms? The hell do those look like?"

She began making her way to the produce section. Thank god she had a cell phone to look up exactly what enoki and shitake mushrooms looked like, because she honestly had no clue. When cooking, she mainly dealt with that plain white everyday mushrooms you found at the store.

As she was looking for the mushrooms, she began thinking of her wedding.

It's true, the wedding was just about the only thing on her mind, ever since Arnold proposed. She had already picked out the dresses, the venue, but she also had other things to deal with, such as the decorations and the cake.

She also had to choose where she would have her bachelorette party. In the past, she had dreamt of a trip to Vegas. The excitement and party nature of the city drew many soon-to-be brides, and Vegas had always been a popular bachelorette party.

However, that would cost even more money, and overspending was something that Helga and Arnold did not want to do. It would simply be unreasonable for her to expect her bridesmaids to pay for not only their dresses and shoes, but also for rooms at Rosewick Manor, plane tickets and rooms for Vegas. And when it came to gambling, they'd have to bring their own cash for that as well.

Helga sighed. Every bride has her dreams, but she was not about to give out ridiculous and expensive demands.

She was sure she could find something to do for her bachelorette party. Something that was affordable and right up her alley.

'Hm…there's also that new club that opened up downtown. They have a VIP room. If I can schedule reservations in advance, I might just have a shot. And who the hell would say no to a bride? And I could always use the same stunt I pulled with the owner at Rosewick.' She thought.

Having a VIP treatment, even it was at a club, did sound like a lot of fun. And Helga knew that she wanted just as much attention as possible on her. She wasn't one to normally do this, but she was starting to like the whole look of t-shirt that says BRIDE in rhinestones, tiara and veil look. Maybe it would even get her free drinks.

She would just have to go check out the club itself sometime this week. She'd just make a call to her bridesmaids and ask them to join her.

Helga brought her hand over some welsh onions, when something blonde caught the corner of her eyes. The object moved so fast, she barely had time to see who it was, but Helga believed that it was her sister Olga.

Helga shoved the onions into the basket, and decided to follow the blonde object that she suspected was her sister. Maybe she could catch up with and invite Olga and her boyfriend over for dinner? Company was always nice, after all.

The blonde object turned a corner, and disappeared into the meats section.

'Criminy! Who knew Olga was this fast? Wait, did I actually just say that? She excelled in every sport she ever did!'

She ran over to the object, hand held high, prepared to shout out to her, when she stopped came to a grinding halt, the force of it nearly throwing her entire body forward. She gasped in disbelief as the blonde object finally came into full view. The basket of produce crashed to the ground, mushrooms and tofu going everywhere. The jar of pickles had also broken, and it's juices leaked out all over the place, even seeping into Helga's feet (she had worn flip-flops), but salty green liquid went unnoticed.

All Helga could do was whisper one word.

"_Mi….Miriam?!"_


	10. Chapter 9: Helga's Disbelief

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acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for reviewing.

Yes, big cliffhanger in the last chapter. I have a feeling you all now know what the big surprise is. But then again, there may be other…surprises. You'll just have to keep reading to find out.

Chapter Nine: Helga's Disbelief

Helga stood stalk still, staring at the woman she had sworn to never see or speak to again.

Some force slapped her back to reality though, and she finally found her ability to move.

She didn't even bother with the groceries. The basket of items had been dropped to the floor, left to be ignored and neglected.

Helga couldn't fly out of the automatic doors fast enough.

She kept running, wanting to get as far away from her mother as possible, hoping, praying, that the woman did not see her.

When she came to a corner, she stopped, and began panting heavily.

When she caught her breath, Helga looked around frantically.

To say that Helga Pataki was shocked, was an understatement. After her parents divorced, Helga hadn't seen or even heard from Miriam. And, for Helga, that was just fine. Although the grudge she once held was no longer as vicious as it was before, she still wanted no contact from her mother.

And then, after five years, she suddenly appears. It wasn't the same way she did all those years ago, but it was still unannounced and unexpected.

She also began to wonder just why the hell was she freaking out, anyway? As far as she knew (or at least hoped), her mother did not see her. Her mother made no attempts to call out to her, or even strike up a conversation.

However, that could be for two reasons. Number one: Miriam believed that above all else, Helga desired space, and wanted to respect her daughter's wishes. Miriam had seen exactly what happened when she returned, and didn't want to repeat those damages, which, grudgingly, Helga appreciated, or, number two: Miriam truly did not see Helga. However, if she had, would she have made any attempts to speak to her daughter?

Helga wasn't entirely sure. Her mother didn't make any actual attempts to actually talk to her after she returned from…wherever the hell she was after ten years. Oh sure, there were a few times when she tried to talk to Helga, but other than that, Miriam didn't really make that much of an effort.

Or, at least that was how Helga saw it.

Even to this day, she still remembered the look on her mother's face when the judge announced the ruling of the divorce. It was a look of pure horror, disbelief, sadness, anger, betrayal and shock all rolled into one. The way she shrieked when she heard that she had lost, Helga remembered it all.

For a while though, she learned to suppress those memories. After all, her parents were divorced. The judge ruled in her father's favor, and after that, Helga felt no reason to cling on to it anymore.

But, seeing her mother made all those emotions come to the surface once more, and she didn't know why. She didn't know why she ran out of that store. If she didn't feel anything anymore, she would have gone about her day, Miriam or no Miriam.

She shook her head, brushing it off. After all, it was just a coincidence, and this would be the last time Helga would run into…her.

…Right?

Sorry that this chapter is so short. The next one should be up sometime this week, or this coming weekend.


	11. Chapter 10: Paths Crossed

Happy note: I just graduated!

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acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for reviewing.

Yes, this was a big surprise for Helga. And she gets another surprise in this chapter.

Chapter Ten: Paths Crossed.

"Yeah, I would like a large strawberry latte with five pumps of chocolate, and whipped cream." Helga voiced her order to the barista behind the counter.

The barista nodded, grabbing a paper cup and a pen.

"Your name, please?" She was a red head, about the age of 18, and she seemed to be very bored with her job.

"Helga."

"That'll be $3.95."

Helga paid the girl, and walked away to go sit down at one of the tables. She had brought her laptop with her, and was about to write a review of the new book that had just come out, His Eyes of Fire, by Whitney Grimm (1).

It was a very stupid book, in Helga's opinion. She did appreciate the traditional romance novels from time to time, but His Eyes of Fire sounded like it was written by a thirteen year old girl attempting to write erotic fanfiction.

The story was about a young woman named Elizabeth, who had fallen in love with a sorcerer named David.

Of course, Helga had to read the book, in order to review it.

In fact, it was Rhonda and Lila who had recommended it to her. What was promised (by the both of them) to be the "romance novels to end all romance novels," turned out to be an awkwardly written porn novel.

Helga had to admit though, that the book did give her a few good laughs, like this line, "His chocolate eyes melted into me, and I could feel that sweet, velvet liquid ooze down my creamy white skin," and "His muscles flexed and rippled, like one of those Greek statues you found at those museums. Gods, help me! I could feel heat pool at my very core. I'll bet it was more powerful than Mount Vesuvius itself."

She had shown the book to Arnold, who read two pages, turned green, and practically threw it across the room, causing Helga to laugh hysterically.

Yep, it was that bad.

She opened up her bag, ready to take out her laptop and give this crap novel the Helga Pataki verbal beating it deserved.

She opened up a document, and began to type: If someone gave the choice between having my face eaten off by rabid piranhas or reading His Eyes of Fire by Whitney Grimm, I would very quickly choose the former. Which is funny, considering that I have, in fact, read the book. His Eyes of Fire takes place in New York City, and is about a young woman named Elizabeth….

"Helga!"

Helga's latte was ready. She got up from the table to go and get it.

When she came back, she continued to type up her review.

"If this had been written by a thirteen year old fanfiction writer, I'm sure the many critics of this book would have been more than willing to cut the author some slack, but it's not. It's written by a grown woman, who had been the butt of every joke since the book came out. Several respectable authors, such as Tim Owens, Maggie Stein, and Rachel Kent (2) have all made claims that Grimm 'cannot write her way out of a paper bag,' and guess what? They are absolutely right. Furthermore…"

"Hel….Helga?!"

Snapped out of her thoughts, Helga looked up to see none other than Miriam, coffee in her hand, a look of surprise on her face.

There was silence and then…

"M….Miriam? What are you doing here?"

"I…I was just coming in for coffee, when I…saw you."

"….Oh."

There was more silence, as estranged mother and daughter stared each other down.

Helga was at a complete loss for words. She honestly did not want to talk to her mom, but just storming away would have made her seem very immature, even after five years, and she didn't want to be seen that way.

No, no, that wasn't it. She honestly did not want to talk to her mom, but the shock of what was taking place forced her body to stay put. 

No, that wasn't it, either.

Wait, why was she talking to Miriam, anyway?

"How…how are you?"

Helga shrugged.

"Fine, I guess. Uhm…you?"

Miriam gave her daughter a small smile.

"I'm…doing ok. How are your father and Olga and doing?"

Helga shrugged again.

"They're doing."

This was probably one of those awkward situations Helga had ever found herself in; probably even more awkward than the time she broke into Arnold's house to steal the tape from the answering machine that contained her own confession of her love for him.

Miriam decided to break the silence, "So, uh…what are you doing?"

Helga instantly covered her engagement ring, praying that Miriam did not see it. The last thing she wanted was for Miriam to have any involvement was her wedding. She didn't deserve to know something like that.

"Oh, I'm just…writing a review of a novel on my blog."

Miriam's eyes lit up.

"Oh, yes. Olga told me about it. You're a very good writer, Helga."

Helga frowned at the sudden compliment from her mother. If this woman was trying to earn brownie points after all she had done, it wasn't going to work.

"Uhm….thanks, I guess. Anyway, I have a lot of work to do, so, I would…I would like to be left alone now. Please."

Miriam's face fell. She knew Helga was attempting to be polite, but her words were sharp and curt.

Perhaps…perhaps it was still too soon.

Nevertheless, she nodded.

"O…of course. I'll just, uhm…I'll just leave you here. It was…it as very nice seeing you again, Helga."

Helga said nothing, but continued to type on her laptop, a pair of head phoned had been placed on her ears. When had she done that?

After Miriam had left, Helga felt a sharp headache coming on. She ripped off her head set, and wiped her brow.

She then grabbed her phone, and texted Phoebe, telling her to meet her at the coffee shop, and that it was an emergency.

Look out for Chapter 11!

Oh, notes:

1: Made up author and book. Guys, it really killed me to write those cheesy ass lines.

2: Made up authors.


	12. Chapter 11: Thoughts

Chapter Eleven: Thoughts

Miriam leaned against the counter of her kitchen in her new apartment, sipping a cup of coffee.

She had moved in about two years ago. Her parents had allowed her to live with them after the divorce, but only until she found a job and was able to find a place to live on her on. They had even agreed to split the rent, but Miriam had to have a job.

The apartment she lived in was a one bedroom, one bathroom, living room and kitchenette type setting. It was called Palm Tree Grove Apartments, and was settled in downtown Hillwood. It was small, but it was perfect for just one person.

Ever since the divorce, she had not talked to either Bob or Helga. She kept in contact with Olga from time to time, grateful that even after all that had happened, her oldest daughter still wanted to have somewhat of a normal relationship with her mother. It really only resorted to the occasional phone call and e-mail, but for Miriam, it was better than nothing.

The only time Bob ever contacted Miriam after the divorce, was when he mailed her the rest of her stuff, along with some wedding albums, and her wedding gown. Their marriage license was also included. There was a note attached to it, in Bob's own handwriting, claiming that she had more use for the items than he ever would.

It was the first sign Miriam got after the divorce that told her that he was more than ready to move on.

She had too, in a sense. She had not started dating again, or anything like that, but had come to accept the fact that she and Bob were officially over. They hadn't had any contact after that. It was as if they had never even met.

However, at first, the divorce sent Miriam into a deep depression. Her mother had eventually gotten her to see a therapist, and although Miriam was sorry that the divorce even happened, she knew that it was time to move on from the past.

Until she saw Helga at that coffee shop.

Miriam did not contact Helga after the divorce. She figured that doing so would only cause problems. Also, Helga seemed to want space between her mother, and Miriam, while it broke her heart, believed that respecting Helga's wishes was the wisest course of action.

There were times when Miriam would grab her cell phone, search for Helga's number in her address book, and attempt to call her. But, this always ended with a sign, and placing her phone back in her purse.

Unless you count the time, however, when she did call. When Helga picked up, she asked repeatedly who it was. Too scared to say anything, Miriam drew a shaky breath, and jabbed her finger into the red button on her phone.

She just couldn't do it. And if she had said anything, there was still no guarantee that Helga even would want to talk to her.

However, at the coffee shop, Helga did something that Miriam never thought would happen: she actually engaged in conversation with her mother!

Unless you call that awkward talk an actual conversation. Helga had looked bewildered when she saw her mother standing there. Miriam was happy that Helga wasn't as hostile as she was when Miriam came home after ten years of being absent from her family, but it was in no means friendly.

Forced civility was a better word for it.

Miriam did miss Helga, very much so. And, she still wanted to be a part of her daughter's life, wanted to show her that she truly did care.

But, just how do you re-enter someone's life, when they don't want you in their life?

It was only recently that she finally and truly grasped the damage that she had caused. It was after she talked to her sister, Carol (1), who had spent some time with Miriam after the divorce. She still remembered her sister's words very well: "I am not taking sides, Miriam, but I do see where Bob and Helga are coming from. You said that Bob 'forced you' to have Olga and Helga, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, sis, but in the end, you did have a choice, and you chose to have both of your children, even though you knew you weren't ready. And, you also chose to walk away. Nobody forced you to do anything. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but you chose the life that you had. You chose it all, whether you want to accept it or not. However, I also believe that you truly are sorry, and do want to be in your children's lives. "

Miriam smiled and shook her head. Her sister certainly had a way with words.

And what's more, she was absolutely right. Miriam did choose the life that she had when she married Bob and had both Olga and Helga.

There was no sense in putting the blame on anyone else.

She just wanted to Helga to know that she cared.

Notes:

1: Miriam has a sister in this story. She might appear a few more times, but she is not going to have a major roll at all.


	13. Chapter 12: Helga and Phoebe

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Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you very much for the review.

Miriam's sister may or may not appear a few more times in the story.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for the review.

Ugh, writing that made my IQ drop.

Chapter Twelve: Helga and Phoebe

"So, you saw Miriam?"

Helga nodded, flicking her cigarette.

"At first, it was at the super market. I already told you how that went down. And then, all of a sudden, she shows up out of nowhere at the coffee shop. I'm telling you, Phoebes, it threw me for a fucking loop."

After Helga had called Phoebe and told her what happened, her black haired friend told her that she could come over. Helga texted Arnold, telling him she was at Phoebe's, and would possibly stay the night.

"And you…you talked to her? I didn't think you ever would."

Helga smirked.

"I didn't think I would either. I don't know what came over me when I talked to her, but you can damn well bet that I didn't want to. I guess I just figured that if I talked to her, she would leave sooner or later."

Phoebe nodded.

There was one thing that she believed, but didn't know if she should say it. What if Helga finally was looking to have contact with her mother? What if Helga wanted to put the past behind her, and start forgiving her mother? Ok, maybe forgiving was a long stretch, but why else would Helga engage in conversation with her mom? In the past, she would snap at Miriam, tell her she was a horrible mother, and then that was that. But, this time, there were no insults thrown at the woman, no words of anger or hurt.

Helga squinted her eyes, as if she was trying to read her friends mind.

"It won't go any farther than what happened. If I walk in somewhere, and I see Miriam, then I'll just simply leave."

Phoebe decided that her original thoughts should be left unsaid. After all, it was Helga's decision whether or not she wanted a relationship with her mother.

Still though, she didn't see the harm in at least trying. Phoebe and her own mother were very close, so the idea of not having a relationship with her was devastating. However, Helga and Miriam were never close. Not that Phoebe couldn't understand why; Miriam was not about to win mother of the year award. After all, according to Helga, the judge denied the woman's request to contest the divorce on the basis of Miriam's selfish actions.

Helga put out her cigarette and stood up.

"I need a glass of wine. Also, did you and the others get the dresses?"

"Yes, Helga. Mine is at the dry cleaners, as it needs some alterations done, but everyone got their dresses.

"Good, because tomorrow, you and I are going to the florist to for the bouquets. Speaking of which, I need to text the others. I made an appointment for tomorrow at 1 Pm."

Helga pulled out her phone, and began texting her bridal party, telling them about the appointment, and to be on time.

"What kind of flowers are you thinking about?" Phoebe asked.  
Helga walked over to the kitchen, opened up the fridge, and pulled out a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

"I want pink roses, white lilies, and I want diamond rhinestones glued onto the center of the roses. Actually, Phoebes, go grab some note paper and a pen, in case I forget this stuff."

"Grabbing!"

When Phoebe came back, she began diligently writing all of Helga's notes, from the types of flowers to the color of the ribbons.

"And the ribbons cannot be hot pink. I may have liked that shit when I was nine, but they have to be rose quartz pink. Oh, and white feathers must accompany the bridesmaids bouquets. You getting all this?"

"Getting!"

Throughput the wedding planning, Helga was a bit of a bridezilla. However, it was never too drastic. The only time she was very picky was when it came to the gowns, bouquets, and the decorations. Each centerpiece had to have the right type of flowers, the right size and color candles, the right everything. Helga's motto throughout the entire thing so far was, "this is what I want, so do it."

After taking down notes, the two friends decided to enjoy a bottle of wine and a cheese plate together. They sat on the patio chairs, eating, drinking and laughing.

However, Helga's mind was somewhere else.

What if she did run into Miriam again? She said she would leave before the woman would try to talk to her, but would she really leave, or would she stay glued to the floor and have another conversation.

Furthermore, why was she feeling a sense of longing? Did she really want her mom in her life? Did she really want to talk to Miriam again?

Helga shook her head, thinking, 'It must be the wine.'


	14. Chapter 13: Cake Tasting

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! A lot of things have been going on lately. I just graduated from college, went to Disneyland as a graduation gift, and suffered a very personal tragedy that came as a huge blow to everyone involved.

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acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you very much.

Chapter Thirteen: Cake Tasting

"I want a penis cake."

"We are not getting a penis cake."

"I want a penis cake."

"We are not getting a penis cake."

"Come on, it'll be hil-hahahaha-arious."

"Not, it will not be hil-hahahaha-arious."

Arnold and Helga were on their way to Maddie Rose's Bakery (1), to taste wedding cake samples. For the entire car ride, Helga had joked about getting a penis shaped cake. Although Arnold new his bride to be was just joking, this was something he still felt the need to put his foot down on.

Helga decided that she would have such a cake at her bachelorette party. After all, that was a time when the bride was supposed to go crazy and have fun.

Arnold parked the Packard, which had finally gotten fixed, and they walked into the shop.

It was a cozy little bakery, and had display of various pies, cakes, breads and cookies up front. It also served as a small café.

Arnold walked up to the counter, where a brunette, bob-haircut woman stood. Her name tag read Suzanne.

"Hi, my name is Arnold. My fiancé and I are here for our 12 PM appointment for wedding cake tasting."

Suzanne opened up a large notebook on the counter, and began skimming through.

"Ah, yes! Arnold Shortman (2) and Helga Pataki. "

Arnold nodded.

"Well, we actually prepared some samples for you to try. Please, have a seat, and I will bring them out to you. Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?"

"Uh…orange juice would be nice. What about you Helga?"

"Hmm….OJ sounds good to me."

Suzanne nodded, and left for the kitchen.

Arnold and Helga went to sit down, and in just a few short moments, Suzanne came back with a tray of two orange juices, and another tray that contained the cake samples.

"Ok. I have included our most popular flavors for you to try today. And if there are any changes you would like, we can most certainly make them. "

"Sounds good." Helga muttered, gulping down some orange juice.

"Wonderful. Now, we here we have red velvet, white chocolate with raspberry, pink champagne with raspberry jam, almond genoise and cherry jam, chocolate with cherry mousse, amaretto with Bavarian cream, chocolate with mocha butter cream, lavender with vanilla ganache, coconut cream with lemon, and white chocolate with raspberry champagne mousse. (3) As I've said before, these are out most popular flavors. However, we can mix and match any flavors you both like. I'll give you some time to try the samples, and then I will come back when you are ready, after which, we will be more than happy to help you choose the size and style of your cake.

Suzanne left Helga and Arnold to their own devices.

Arnold picked up the red velvet cake, took a bite, and waited as the flavor sunk in.

Helga picked up the same flavor (there were two of each flavor so both bride and groom to be could try them).

"Hm….not really a fan. I mean, it's good, but I find this to be very dry."

Arnold nodded. It's true, the flavor of the cake was good, but it did taste very dry.

They had both decided to narrow it down to their top three flavors. Eventually, they had limited it down to pink champagne with raspberry jam, chocolate with mocha butter cream and white chocolate with raspberry champagne mousse.

"Really like the pink champagne."

Arnold smirked.

"Don't let me guess. Because it's pink?"

"Damn straight, football head. And I can definitely taste a hint of champagne in there. What do you think?"

"Well, to be honest, I really like the white chocolate with raspberry champagne mousse."

"Suzanne did say that they could combine flavors, right?"

" Hm…yeah, she did, didn't she."

"Well, I'm thinking pink champagne with raspberry champagne mouse."

"Ok, but how are we going to sample that? There's no sample of that on the tray."

Helga rolled her eyes. Time for Arnold to see another level of her genius.

"Watch and be amazed, Arnoldo!"

Helga picked up the pink champagne cake, and using a napkin, scrapped off the filling. Then, she took the raspberry champagne mousse from the other cake, and combined it with the now bare pink champagne cake.

She took a bite, and her face contorted into that of pure happiness. She then handed the new flavor to Arnold.

"Wow, this actually isn't that bad. How'd you come up with this idea?"

"When you start to make cooking a pastime, you pick up on this sort of thing.

After a short while, Suzanne walked over with large binder.

"How is everything?"

"Everything is great, thank you."

"Wonderful! Did you taste anything you liked?"

"Sure did. We were wondering if you could combine the pink champagne cake with raspberry champagne filling?"

Suzanne blinked.

"Well, we've never done something like that before, but I'm sure we could pull it off. "

She then sat down and opened up the binder she was carrying.

"Now that you have decided on a flavor, we also help our clients pick out a size and style wedding cake that they will be completely satisfied with. Here, we have a variety of shapes and sizes.

She flipped a few pages.

"Now here, I would like to show you our most popular wedding cake sizes. This one here, number 603, is a four tiered cake with fondant for the top layer. "

She pointed to a rather magnificent looking cake that was white and covered with tiny silver pearls and intricate light blue designs.

"And this one here, number 802, is a five tiered cake with butter cream frosting, which is one of the most popular frostings.

Helga nodded as she examined the cakes in front of her.

"I have a question, what's the difference between fondant and butter cream?" Arnold asked, thinking that such a question was very important.  
"There are actually many differences between fondant and butter cream. Fondant had a very stretchy texture, while butter cream is very soft. Fondant can also be colored any color you wish. However, fondant also has a very chewy texture, so a lot of people don't really like it. Also, fondant cannot be refrigerated. But, what matters is what the bride and groom want. I will say that fondant has that smooth-satin like finish that makes it popular with a lot of brides. "

Helga looked up when Suzanne said smooth-satin like finish.

A texture like that did sound beautiful, and Helga could even picture hers and Arnold's wedding cake. And, being Helga, she wanted this wedding to be spectacular.

But the chewy texture and 'not able to be refrigerated' also posed a bit of a problem. Helga had been to a few weddings herself, and the bride and groom always took home the top portion of the cake. How were she and Arnold able to enjoy it on their honeymoon, if they couldn't refrigerate it?

At the same time though, the light and soft texture of butter cream also sounded like a good idea as well. Who's to say that a butter cream cake couldn't look as spectacular as a cake with fondant?

"Butter cream might be a better way to go, then."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"Butter cream is a very popular frosting for wedding cakes. And we can most certainly give it that sleek-satin look if you so choose. So, the pink champagne cake with raspberry champagne filling…pink butter cream frosting…"

She began writing Helga and Arnold's preferences down on a notepad.

After a minute, she looked up at them.

"Now, how many layers do you want your cake to have? Also, any decorations?

Helga and Arnold looked at each other. Come to think of it, they never really thought about layers and decorations.

"Well, uhm…"

"We…uh….well…"

Suzanne smiled.

"Might I suggest something? Most brides and grooms go for a three to four tiered cake. Of course, it depends on how many people are going to be attending your wedding. Four usually adds a very nice balance."

Both Helga and Arnold began to think, and ran over the number of guests at their wedding.

"Well, in that case, four sounds great. Helga, what do you think?"

"Even number sounds good to me. Also, I thought about the decorations. "Both Suzanne and Arnold's eyes widened.

"Well, I remember seeing a picture of this gorgeous wedding cake. It had red roses and those little silver pearls. Here, I have a picture of it on my phone."

Helga reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and began looking through her pictures. When she got to the cake, she handed it to Suzanne.

When Suzanne saw it, she smiled, and then handed the phone to Arnold."Yes, that is very beautiful. We can most certainly replicate this cake for you."Helga: "What do you think, Arnold?"

Arnold smiled at her,

"I like it. I think it's perfect, Helga."

Arnold was pretty much handing the reigns to Helga when it came to wedding planning.

Arnold and Helga spent a few more moments talking to Suzanne. When they felt that they were completely satisfied, they left the bakery.

As they were driving back to the apartment, Arnold kept stealing glances at his fiancé.

For the entire car ride, she was quiet. Unusually quiet. Arnold even noticed that she kept biting her thumb and grinding her teeth, which was something Helga never did unless something was wrong.

When he asked her about it, she brushed it off as, "stress from planning a wedding." Although he didn't buy it, he decided to play along with her excuse, anyway, by asking her if she wanted to hire a wedding planner. Her answer? She didn't want "some weasel fucking up her wedding."

After that, Arnold decided to drop the subject. She didn't even seem to want to talk anymore, and nobody forced Helga Pataki to do anything.

Still, Arnold couldn't help but sense that something was wrong.

Just why was he getting the feeling that there was something Helga wasn't telling him?

Hey guys, me again. Once again, I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long. The next chapter should be up soon, as I have already come up with some ideas for it. Just know that I have not abandoned this story.

Notes:

1: Made up bakery

2: In the show, Arnold's grandpa calls him "Shortman." Even though we don't know what his last name actually is, I can't help but get the feeling that Arnold's grandpa was dropping a hint. I could be wrong, though.

3: I had to research wedding cake flavors, as well as types of frostings.

Thank you very much for reading!


	15. Chapter 14: The Fight

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for your review.

I've always had the feeling that Shortman was, in fact, Arnold's last name. Where did you hear it from Craig?

Chapter Fourteen: The Fight

Arnold and Helga sat by the television set, watching some reality show about celebrities, but neither of them were talking to each other.

For the last few days, about a week after they went cake tasting, Helga had been very peculiar. Her smoking had increased and she had gotten quite snappy and irritable as well.

At first, Arnold had just pegged it as stress from planning a wedding, and nothing more. However, when Helga got more and more short with him, he realized that something was wrong.

He tried getting it out of her, he really did. But, every single time, she always gave the same answer: "I am just fine, football head."

But, Arnold knew better. Helga wasn't just fine.

He looked over at her, and noticed that her posture was very tense. Her legs, clad in pink pajama bottoms, were crosses very tightly, and her arms folded. She was also chewing absentmindedly on her tongue.

Every now and then she would sigh with exasperation, grab her phone, look at it, and then just toss it absentmindedly next to her on the couch.

After a few minutes, she stood up and announced that she needed a cigarette, and went outside to satisfy her addiction.

As she was outside smoking, Arnold watched her with half-lidded, suspicious eyes.

Just what the hell was wrong with her? It wasn't like Helga to be quiet. Sure, she was quiet, but not to this extent. It was like a black storm cloud invaded their home, and Arnold was determined to get to the bottom of it. When they had gotten together, they had promised each other no secrets. He was not about to let Helga break that promise, no matter what the reason was.

She came back inside and sat down on the couch.

This was it, it was no or never.

"So, you want to tell me what's wrong?" Arnold asked, but still knowing the answer she would give him.

Helga looked over at him.

"No, because nothing is."

"I seriously doubt that."

"Just what are you getting at?"

Arnold sighed. He knew he was about to walk into dangerous territory, but he did not care.

"Helga, ever since we did that whole cake tasting business, you've been acting very weird. You barely talk to me anymore, and your smoking habit has gone way up. Just yesterday, you snapped at Phoebe, and you cancelled on Olga several times. I…"

Helga held up a hand, cutting him off.

"If this is going to be talk about how smoking is bad for me causing me to be irritated, blah blah blah, then you can just stop right there. I told you, I'm just stressed out from planning the wedding." Arnold shook his head.

"I think it's a lot more than that. Helga, if you would just tell me what's wrong, you know I will help you, but I can't do anything unless you tell me what's going on."

"I. Told. You. Nothing. Is. Wrong."

Arnold practically rolled his eyes at her.

"Really? Then why do you get so mad every time I ask you?

"Because you keep fucking asking me!"

"Well, maybe I wouldn't have to keep asking you if you would just be honest with me."

Arnold could now feel himself getting quite irritated as well. Why did Helga have to be so stubborn?

"What do you mean, I'm not being honest with you? I AM being honest with you. Why is it that just because I quiet, smoke more, or snap at people, it automatically means that there is something wrong with me? I'm sorry I can't be so happy-go-lucky all the time, just like you want me to be, but it isn't who I am."

"I'm not asking you to be happy-go-lucky, Helga. I just want you to be honest with me."

Helga now felt herself getting annoyed with Arnold.

In truth, there was something wrong. There was, but she wasn't ready, nor did she want to tell him. It was a very complicated thing, and she was afraid that he either wouldn't understand, or that he would try to lecture on doing the right thing.

But, she was doing the right thing, even it the right thing was blatant avoidance. She was doing what was best for her.

Just because they were engaged didn't mean she had to tell him everything.

But, Arnold would not let up, and she knew he wouldn't.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"I'm not being stubborn, you're being invasive."

"Oh, wanting to know what's wrong with my fiancé is invasive."

"If you keep bugging me about stuff, even when I keep fucking telling you that nothing is wrong, then yes, that is being invasive. "

"Well, I wouldn't have to bug you if you would just tell me why you're acting like this!"

"I'm fine!"

Arnold had enough. He grabbed Helga's shoulders firmly, but not roughly, and pulled her closer.

"Then tell me this Helga: why do I not believe you?"

Helga blinked, then frowned at him.

"It's none of your business."

It was barely a whisper, but Arnold heard it.

"What's none of my business? Helga, what is this about?"

"I fucking told you a million times, Arnold. It. Is. NOTHING! Why won't you fucking leave me alone about it?!"

"Because you're bitchy attitude is bringing everything and everybody down!"

She shoved him backward onto the couch.

Arnold jumped up, clearly pissed now.

"Ow! The hell was that for!?"

"Oh, don't you dare give me that! That bitchy comment was uncalled for, and you damn well know it!"

"Really? I couldn't tell from the way you snapped at Phoebe, me and all of your bridesmaid the other day. Whatever is going on with you doesn't give you the right to treat people like crap, Helga!"

"And you don't have the fucking right to invade me fucking privacy, Arnold!"

The fighting continued for some time.

Arnold sighed once more. There was no way he was going to ever get her to admit that there was more than just the wedding that was causing her to stress out.

Helga won the battle, but he was determined to win the war.\

Which was a feat easier said than done, when it came to any type of war with Helga Pataki.

"Look. Obviously, you don't want to talk about it and…"Arnold said after a while

"I told you, there's nothing to FUCKING talking about!"

Arnold chose to ignore that last statement.

"But I'm sorry Helga, I really don't want to be around your constant negativity right now. I understand that you're stressed out, and I really do think it's got more to do with just the wedding. I'm going over to Gerald's. Call me when you've calmed down and you're ready to talk this out calmly."

She didn't say anything as she watched his grab his coat and keys.

When he left, she was seething.

If there was one thing Helga hated, it was when people treated her like someone who was in dire need of anger management class, and all because she upped her nicotine intake and snapped at people.

Seriously, it was like she didn't have the right to be stressed out without somebody getting on her case about it!

After a few moments, there was a knock on the door.

Helga let out a strangled grunt, before jumping off the couch, and stomping over to the front door

"Oh, what, you've come to have the last word, football head?! Well, I can tell you right now that you can just…."

She opened the door, but her sentence was cut short.

"Hi, Helga."

Three guesses who. The next chapter should be up by tomorrow, or the next day.


	16. Chapter 15: The Unexpected

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for the review.

When you read this chapter, you will find out who showed up, and what they want.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you very much for the review.

I think I'm going to look for where Craig said that.

Chapter Fifteen: The Unexpected

Helga stood stalk still, her blue eyes wide in sheer surprise.

The blonde woman in front of her, smiling nervously, and clutching her purse.

"M…Miriam?!"

Miriam nodded, proving that she was, in fact, standing right in front of her estranged daughter.

"Uhm…may I come in? If…if that's ok, I…."

Helga said nothing, as she stood aside, and allowed her mother to enter hers and Arnold's home.

Miriam walked in, and Helga shut the door behind her, her eyes still widened in absolute shock.

Miriam walked into the middle of the room and stood there. Her head moved slowly from left to right, observing her daughter's home.

Thoughts raced through Helga's mind.

Miriam just…showed up, randomly, out of nowhere, with no explanation. It was like that day five years ago all over again. Just what the hell was she doing here?

Miriam turned to Helga.

"I'm sorry that I just showed up uninvited, but I wanted…"

"How…how did you find me?"

It was a valid question, Miriam knew. After all, she just showed up at her daughter's doorstep unannounced.

"Well, honey I…"

Helga shook her head.

"Please…don't call me that."

Miriam paused.

"I'm sorry. I actually looked you up in the yellow pages. I wanted to talk to you."

"About what."

It was more of a statement than a question.

"It…I…it's a long story and…"

Helga held up her hand.

"I was just about to go outside to have a cigarette. You can join me, but do not think this is any sort of welcoming you back into my life kind of a thing. I'm going against my previous wishes to hear you out. You've got five minutes, Miriam."

Miriam's eyes widened, but she supposed she should be grateful that Helga was even agreeing to speak with her.

Meanwhile, Helga was wondering if she had gone crazy. One part of her was screaming at her to kick the woman out and slam the door in her face. The other part was coaxing her to just listen to what Miriam had to say.

Helga sat cross legged on the chair outside, and grabbed her pack of cigarettes. She put one to her mouth, and lit it.

"I didn't know you smoked Helga. When did you start?"

"I've been smoking since I was fourteen, mom. It one of the only ways I could use to cope with you leaving."

"Yes, well...uhm…that's why…that's why I'm here, I…"

Miriam reached out her hand, in an attempt to take her daughter's into her own. However, she thought better of it, and pulled back.

"Helga…I know that what I did was…inexcusable. I left you and Olga and your father without so much as an explanation or a goodbye. And even though I gave so many reasons, I realize now that they weren't good reasons. And I know that no apology will ever make up for what I did to you…"

"You put me through hell, Miriam. You were my mother, and you betrayed me in the worst possible way. Especially when you admitted that you never wanted me."

"Helga, there are lot of things that I have said and done that I regret, but I don't regret any of those as much as I regret what I did to you. "

"Hm."

Miriam thought for a moment. She knew she didn't have a lot of time with Helga, and she had to use whatever was left of it wisely.

"After the divorce was finalized, I was so upset. I was angry, very very angry. But then I realized that I didn't have a right to be angry. I had to seek counseling, and my therapist told me to 'start accepting responsibility.'"

"Nice to know that somebody knocked some sense into you. If this is all you're going to say to me, it's great and all, but I am very busy, and I am under a lot of stress, so if you could please just show yourself out I would really…."

"I checked myself into rehab."

Helga was in the middle of putting out her cigarette, but stopped.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"A year after the divorce, I had to be rushed to the hospital due to alcohol poisoning. Upon realizing just how close I came to dying, I checked myself into rehab."

Helga hated to admit it, but she was no interested in what her mother had to say. This called for another cigarette.

"But please, Helga, I didn't do it for me. I did it for you. I thought that if I made an attempt to turn my life around, to be a more responsible person, I could finally prove that I could be a mother worthy of you. "

Helga looked at her mom with suspicious eyes.

Miriam had a feeling Helga would have a hard time believing her, so she came prepared. She reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Helga.

"The hell is this?"

"Just…just open it…please."

Helga shrugged, but nonetheless did as she was told.

Before long, there were papers in her hand, papers with Miriam's name on them. They even mentioned the rehab center she admitted herself to, as well as the date she checked in, and the date she was fully released.

What's more, the papers were legitimate. Miriam was telling the truth.

Helga placed the papers back into the envelope, and handed it to Miriam.

"So, let me get this straight."

She took a drag of her cigarette.

"You went to rehab, because you wanted to prove yourself that you could be a worthy mother."

"Yes, and I know it's a long shot. And I realize that I really don't deserve it, nor do I expect an answer from you right away. But, Helga, I really, really do want to be a part of your life. I know, it's sad and pathetic that it took a divorce for me to realize that, but it did. "

Helga looked the woman in front of her, long and hard. Then, she sighed, and leaned back in her chair, pulling her right knee up to her chest.

"At least we can agree on one thing. It was pretty fucking sad and pathetic for a divorce to make you realize just how badly you fucked up. "

Miriam almost hung her head in shame, mentally berating herself for even thinking that Helga would give her a second chance.

"I am not giving you a second chance."

Although it was expected, Miriam couldn't help but feel a sudden stab of pain in her heart. However, she knew she had no right to be surprised.

"But, I'm normally a fair person. I will think about what you have told me. I'll give you my answer next week. You got a pen?"

Miriam reached into her purse, and handed Helga a blue, ballpoint pen. As quickly as she handed it to Helga, her daughter grabbed her palm, and began to write something.

When she was done, Miriam gazed at her hand. It was a phone number: 555-369-2468.

"My phone number."

She placed the pen on her palm.

"Give me yours."

Miriam was so shocked, she shook her head rapidly.

"Yes, uhm…555-123-4567."

Helga handed the pen back to her mother.

"You'll get a call from me sometime next week. Do not call me. If you really want to prove to me that you are worth being my mother, then you will respect my wishes and not have any contact me until I have given you my answer. Now, as I said earlier, I'm very busy. I'll show you the door."

Helga put out her cigarette, and got up. Miriam followed her daughter to the door.

It didn't take long for Miriam to leave. Mother and daughter said a short, yet awkward goodbye.

And Helga smacked her forehead against the door, wondering just what the hell she had agreed to.

Next chapter should be up soon.

Also, don't call those numbers. I tested them out, just to be sure. They won't work. 


	17. Chapter 16: Fathom

Hey everyone!

As an apology for updating not as frequently as I could, I have uploaded two chapters. They're short, but I still wanted to give you guys something.

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for the review.

Yes, Helga is being pretty reasonable. At the same time, there is a big maturity level between ages 19 (the age she was in Rebuild a Foundation) and the age she is now (25). She's being reasonable, yes, but she is still wondering if she should give her mom the chance that she requested.

Chapter Sixteen: Fathom

Helga took another drag of her cigarette, contemplating the events that had just taken place.

Just after Arnold had left, she heard a loud knocking on the door. Thinking that it had been him, she had pounced from her place on the couch, believing that he had returned just to have the last word on the fight they had just had.

When she opened the door, posed directly in front of her was Miriam.

To say that Helga was at a loss for words was an understatement. The last time she had seen the woman had been in that coffee shop, just a few weeks ago. The conversation was civil at best, but it was short, had Helga had intended it to be. If she was going to be put in a situation where she had to speak to her mother, then she would keep it as short as possible.

She never presumed she would see her mother again. And when Miriam showed up on her daughter's doorstep, time for Helga seemed to stop all together.

So many questions rang through the young woman's mind: how did Miriam find her? What was she doing here? What did she want, but most importantly: how did she find out where Helga lived?

The next biggest question that invaded Helga's mind was: just what the hell was she thinking when she allowed her mom to come in? If this had been five years ago, the second Helga saw Miriam's face, she would have slammed the door in it.

But no. Instead, she stepped aside, and granted her mother permission to enter her home. What's more, she even allowed the woman to speak to her, to tell her how sorry she was, all of her regrets, and her attempts at trying to become a more responsible person.

After all was said and done, Miriam asked for one more chance, and although Helga refused to grant it right then and there, she promised Miriam she would, at the very least consider it.

Thing is, Helga didn't know why she promised to even give it much thought. She had always told herself, no, she would picture every little detail in her mind: Miriam showing up unannounced at her doorstep, asking for a second chance, after spilling out some lame heartfelt apology. And Helga, true to her word about not wanting anymore to do with the woman she once called mom, would slam the door in the simpering woman's face, telling her to leave and to never ever speak to her again.

But, instead, the scene Helga had played over and over again in her mind had been re-scripted. She couldn't explain it, but it was like something was pushing her to listen to her mother.

She had to admit, she was shocked when Miriam brought evidence with her, proving that she had checked herself into rehab. In her psychology class, Helga studied the damages that can come with being an alcoholic, and just how difficult it is to admit that you need help.

Miriam was brave enough to realize she had a problem and needed help, Helga would give her that. After all, a very small percent of the population succeeded at rehab, and relapsing was so easy. Furthermore, being an alcoholic could very well kill a person, and although Helga had bitter feelings towards her mother, she certainly did not wish death upon the woman.

No, she wasn't that full of hatred.

In fact, she didn't even know if hate was the right word to use, not any more. Five years ago, the very word would have been perfect to describe how Helga felt about her mother; the very sight of the woman abhorred her.

Deciding she needed another cigarette, she yanked one out of the pack, and lit it.

Arnold was right; she was smoking more than usual.

She smiled wryly, and gave an ironic chuckle. Oh, if only he knew the reason.

There was no way he would dare to be misunderstanding of the situation. She imagined shocked was how he felt when he finally met his parents after so long, even thought the situations were very different.

She slammed her cigarette into the abalone ash tray, and went back into the house.

She would have the place all to herself, quite possibly for the entire night. She eventually decided to catch up on a few episodes of _Drop Dead Diva (1)_, and enjoy it with a glass of wine and her laptop. She might as well work more on the wedding.

She supposed she would tell Arnold everything when she saw him again.

Notes

1: I don't own Drop Dead Diva. However, I very much enjoy watching it, and for some reason, I can see Helga watching it as well. I don't know, it just seems like a show she would watch.


	18. Chapter 17: Of Course I Understand

Chapter Seventeen: Of Course I Understand (or, Understanding)

Helga typed away at her laptop, when she heard the front door open and shut. She didn't bother looking up, for she knew who it was.

Her fiancé placed his car keys in the little bowl on top of the table by the door, took off his jacket, and hung it up in the coat closet. He then went to the kitchen, and began to fix himself a cup of coffee.

As he was adding some cream, Helga decided to break the silence.

"Miriam stopped by."

Arnold's gaze snapped up to look at his wife-to-be, surprise etched onto his face.

"Wait…who stopped by?"

Helga sighed, hating the fact that she had to repeat herself.

"I said, Miriam stopped by."

Arnold placed the coffee pot back on the counter, grabbed his own cup and made his way to the living room where Helga was.

"Well, what did she have to say?"

This was a huge surprise for Arnold. After her parents' divorce, Helga had dropped all contact with her mother. And then, all of a sudden, after five years, the woman just showed up on their doorstep. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Helga was feeling.

Helga closed her laptop, placed it on the coffee table, and leaned back against the couch.

"She…she said that she was very sorry for what she did, and that she wanted another chance."

"So, what did you tell her?"

Helga sighed.

"I told her that I'd think about it."

Arnold blinked. That was not the answer he was expecting. He pictured Helga slamming the door in Miriam's face, but considering giving her another chance? Not what he was expecting at all.

Still though, he believed that having Miriam in her life might end up being a positive change for Helga. Even though she never acted like it, he suspected that she truly did miss her mother, but he also understood her anger, desire for distance and resentment.

"Not only that, but she came with papers that proclaimed that she checked herself into, and finished rehab. Trust me, Arnold, I was just surprised as you look right now."

Arnold remembered going over to Helga's house for school projects. Her mom was almost always passed out, the smell of booze lingered on her breath. She also never really interacted with Helga, or her friends, instead preferring to make one of her infamous "smoothies." He never thought she would enter rehab.

"So, what are you going to do?"

Helga smacked her head against the back cushion of the couch.

"Honestly? I have no fucking clue. I told Miriam that I would think about it, but I'm not so sure, you know? Why should she deserve another chance after all she did?"

"I have a feeling that this isn't the first time you ran into Miriam. Helga, is that why you've been acting so uptight? You know you can tell me."

Helga looked at Arnold. God, how could that stupid football head be so good at mind reading? It both made her adore him and want to smack him at the same time. Spontaneously.

"No, Arnold, it isn't. The first time I saw her was at the grocery store. Do you remember when I came home empty handed, and said that I had forgotten?"

Arnold nodded.

"Yeah, uhm…that it was a complete lie. I didn't forget anything, but when I saw Miriam, I don't know…I just…I panicked and ran."

Arnold reached out and grabbed Helga's hand.

"The second time, was at the coffee shop. We had a short conversation, and ever since that day…I don't know, it's like I feel like a totally different person."

Now, now Arnold understood why Helga was acting the way she was. It didn't excuse her rudeness, but he could see that she had a reason. And all he wanted to do, was be there for her.

He brought her hand up to his mouth and placed a chaste, yet loving kiss there.

"Helga…" he was about to say that he thought she should give her mother another chance, but retracted those thoughts. This was entirely up to Helga, and he had nothing to do with it.

So, he said the next best thing:

"Do what you are comfortable with, and whatever happens, I'll be with you through everything."


	19. Chapter 18: Between a Rock and a Hard

Hey everyone!

Very sorry I haven't been updating as frequently. I have been dealing with personal stuff as of late.

Review Responses:

Guest:

Hello, and thank you for reading my story.

Yes, Helga was rude and snappy, but after she told Arnold everything that had happened, he understood that there was a reason for why she was acting the way she was. They both know it's not an excuse. If you ever read this, for more information on Helga's behavior, you should go and read my story, Rebuild a Foundation. It's a prequel to this one. That story explains everything.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Yes, Arnold is a very understanding person. I think ever since the events with Rebuild a Foundation, as well as the events leading up to that story (Rebuild a Foundation, and made up events), Helga built a wall around her. She trusts Arnold with everything she's ever known, but she's afraid to open up, lest she be hurt again. Which is weird, because she knows that Arnold would never betray her.

Chapter Eighteen: Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

It had been roughly a week since Helga spoke with Miriam, when the woman requested another chance from her estranged daughter.

She had spoken with Arnold and Phoebe about it, and although they both promised to be supportive of whatever decision she made regarding her mother, she knew that they thought she should give Miriam another chance. Words weren't needed, but she could sense what went unspoken.

But, in Helga's mind, did Miriam even deserve another chance? After all she had done, she really shouldn't be forgiven should she? It was a lot more than just walking out on her family. No, it was, even though unintentionally, forcing Helga to grow up believing that she was an unlovable person. That was something no child should ever have to experience. Arnold proved that to be totally wrong, but it still scarred Helga deeply.

At the same time though, would it kill her to give her mother another chance? There were lots of estranged adults who did it, although, Helga never knew if those people did it because they genuinely believed in giving multiple chances, or if they didn't want to live with the guilt of what might have been for the rest of their lives.

She already knew what her father and her sister would say. Her father would tell her to go ahead and do whatever she felt was right but he wouldn't be involved in it. That's the type of father Big Bob had become: there to help his children whenever he needed them, but not once did he ever involve himself in their affairs. They were now grown women after all, perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. Of course, Helga had been taking care of herself ever since she was three years old. Out of the two Pataki sisters, Helga was the most independent. She experienced self-reliance long before she even knew what it meant.

And her sister? She would have urged Helga to give Miriam the chance she so desired.

"Mother really does miss you, Helga," is exactly what Olga would have said. She probably would have added some tears for a more dramatic effect.

This was a hard decision to make: on one hand, give Miriam the chance she believed she deserved. On the other hand, refuse it and then go about her life.

On one hand, give Miriam the chance she believed she deserved, and fall into the fear of being disappointed and rejected once more. On the other hand, blatantly refuse Miriam, and then live the rest of her life in guilt, wondering what might have been.

Was she even ready to do this? Could she do it? Arnold, hell, those closest to her told her that she had a kind and strong heart. However, Helga was sick and tired of being hurt by the one person whom she should have been able to trust: her own mother.

A person with a kind and strong heart could only take so much, after all.

Still, she knew what she had to do. She grabbed her cell phone from the coffee table. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a piece of paper, an old receipt, that had Miriam's phone number on it. She had written it down before the ink washed off in the shower.

Her fingers smacked against the buttons on the touch screen, before a loud ringing noise was heard from the other line.

And then, not even a moment later….

"Hey Miriam, it's me, Helga. Look, I've, uhm…I've got an answer for you. Meet me at the coffee place, the same one where we talked before. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Next chapter: Helga's Decision!

So, what will Helga do? Post what you think in the reviews!


	20. Chapter 19: Helga's Decision

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

Thank you for your review.

No, Helga wasn't ever actually planning to file a restraining order against Miriam. Although, that would make for an interesting story.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for the review.

Yes, Helga is very hesitant. She is very confused when it comes to her feelings towards Miriam. Just how strong is Helga's resentment?

Chapter 19: Helga's Decision

Helga tapped her long, oval shaped, manicured nails against the white cup of coffee. French pressed, as usual.

She had just arrived at the coffee shop, not too much longer after getting off the phone with her mother, informing the much older woman that she had an answer to her request for another chance.

After a few moments, Miriam had walked in, and spotted her daughter. She went over, and took a seat across from her.

"Hello Helga. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long. The bus came very late and I haven't…"

Helga raised an eyebrow, slightly curious about her mother's words.

"Wait…you took the bus? I thought you had a car."

Miriam nodded.

"Just last month the engine over heated. Getting a replacement engine proved to be too expensive; I couldn't afford it."

Helga nodded, sensing that her mother forgot to check the water and oil levels. She always was such an absentminded woman.

"So, you said you had an…answer for me?" Miriam's face looked hopeful, but not too hopeful. What she was asking for was a lot, after all.

Helga nodded, sipping her coffee. She then placed it down, and sighed, thinking just how to tell the woman in front of her exactly how she felt about giving her another chance.

To be honest, Helga never dreamed she would be in this position. After her parents had gotten a divorce, she had promised herself that she would try very hard to no longer hold onto the resentment she had towards her mother. She had promised herself that she would not have any contact with Miriam, instead preferring to move on with her life. She had been doing a pretty good job of it for the five years after the divorce was finalized.

And now, here she was, sitting down with her mother. Fate certainly did have a rather sick sense of humor, didn't it?

"Yes. To be honest, at first, I didn't believe you deserved another chance. You abandoned me, Miriam. You abandoned me, Olga, and dad. You didn't even give any of us a second thought; you just left, and didn't even tell us where you were going. When I was in the hospital, you didn't even come and visit me, proving that you didn't give a damn. And then you show up, and expected everyone to just go about their lives as if nothing had ever happened, like you never ever betrayed the ones you were supposed to care about. And then, I hear from your own lips, that you never wanted me or Olga. For a long while, Miriam, you made me absolutely sick to my stomach."

Miriam's eyes widened. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised. After all she had done, after all of the damage she caused, just because she was too selfish to take responsibility for anything, she knew she didn't deserve another chance.

She didn't deserve one, but she could feel her heart snapping in two. Perhaps this was how Helga felt when she believed that she had been rejected by her own mother.

She didn't want to say anything. Instead, she got up to leave, when Helga spoke again.

"However….I….don't know what it is exactly, but I guess you could say that something…I don't know….came over me, I guess. "

This was a lot harder than Helga thought it was going to be.

"I…thought about it, and this wasn't an easy decision for me to make, and I'm only going to say this once, so don't make me repeat it. "

She took a deep breath and continued.

"I honestly can't say that I've forgiven you, because I haven't. God knows I haven't. And it's going to take a lot of time, and effort, Miriam, on your part, to get me to even consider forgiving you for what you put me through. What I do know is this: I do feel that you truly are sorry for what you did, and that you do regret what happened. You wouldn't have tried so hard to track me down and show up at my door step, if you didn't give a damn. And, I also know that I don't want to go through life regretting what could have been. It's going to take a long time, and I think we'll both have to work very hard at it, but…I've decided to give you another chance."

Miriam could scarcely believe what she had heard. At first, Helga's words made it seem like she was going to throw the idea of another chance right back in her face. Right after, "you made me absolutely sick to my stomach," she had honestly expected to hear, "you don't deserve another chance; there's no way in hell I will give you one," followed by a "stay out of my life and don't ever contact me again." Miriam had feared the (understandable) worse.

But what Miriam feared never came. She sat there, processing her daughter's words. After so many years of resentment and neglect, Helga has so graciously granted her mother's wish. If miracles did exist, this had to be one of them.

"Helga, do you…do you really mean it?" The words came out awe-sounding, as if she still couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Helga nodded, picking up her coffee to finish the last few sips.

"Give me a break, Miriam. I wouldn't have said all that sappy crap if I didn't mean it. I told you I was giving you another chance, didn't I?"

"Helga, I…I don't know what to say…I….thank you…."

Helga held up her hand.

"Hold on, don't thank me just yet. I am giving you another chance, yes, but this is also a trial period. Like I said, I do believe that you are sorry, but you also need to prove to me that you want to be in my life, that you want to be not just a mom, but a _good_ mom. Actions speak louder than words, Miriam. So far, you tracking me down has made an impact on me, but it's also _not enough_. You also need to be there for me, actually start _being _there for me. Let's just see how this all works out."

She stood up from the chair, and began putting on her pink coat.

"We'll continue this conversation later. I still have your number, so I'll call you. I have some….conditions that I need to lay down. "

Miriam nodded, and didn't even bother asking her daughter what kind of conditions. She knew that this whole 'another chance' thing succeeded on whether or not she could prove to Helga, that she could, in fact, be a good mother, be the mother that Helga wanted and needed.

"Anyway, it was…good seeing you, Miriam. I'll keep in touch, and you'll be hearing from me again in a few days."

Helga was about to leave, when she stopped.

"Hey, you said that you took the bus here, right?"

Miriam nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"Where do you live?"

Miriam blinked, beginning to wonder where this was going.

"Uhm, well I live at Palm Tree Grove Apartments."

Helga bit her lip, thinking. Then….

"I guess I… could give you a ride. Besides, you'd have to wait two hours for the next bus, anyway. But just know that this is not going to become a habit. I'm going in that direction, anyway. This is a one-time thing."

As they walked towards her car, Helga couldn't help but wonder if she was doing the right thing.

Next chapter will be up by Friday or Saturday.


	21. Chapter 20: The Right Thing?

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

Thank you for your review.

To be honest, I had a hard time deciding what Helga's answer for Miriam was going to be.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for reviewing my story.

I actually wanted Helga's personality towards her mother to change, or at the very least falter. She is willing to give Miriam a chance, but it not ready to completely open up to her mother.

Chapter Twenty: The Right Thing?

Helga walked through the door of her and Arnold's home, placing her car keys in the bowl on the table by the door.

She had just dropped Miriam off back at her apartment. The car ride for the most part was silent, except for Miriam asking what Helga was doing with her life. Helga answered her mother's questions, but left one very important detail out: her engagement to Arnold. For the simple fact that she wasn't ready to tell Miriam yet. She didn't think Miriam deserved to know. Not yet, anyway.

"Poured you a glass of wine."

Helga spun around to see Arnold, holding up a large glass of red wine, and a beer in the other. Helga smirked at this.

"Tryin' to bribe me, Football head?"

Arnold shrugged.

"Figured you needed one. Anyway, let's go talk outside. Something tells me you have something to tell me.

Helga needed to get Arnold checked to see if he was a mind reader, but nonetheless, she took the glass, and followed her fiancé out to the back porch.

Removing a cigarette from her pack, Helga put it to her lips and lit it.

"So….what's up?"

"The sky….ok, ok, fine, I'll be serious! Uhm…I talked to Miriam today. I, you know…gave her an answer."

Arnold nodded.

"I figured you would. What did you tell her?"

Helga sighed.

"Well, see…it's like this."

She adjusted her position, so that she was facing Arnold a bit more.

"I called her up, you know the last time she was here, she left me her number. Anyway, I called her up, and told her to meet me at the coffee shop, the same one I ran into her earlier. That's when I told her my true feelings, how I didn't think she deserved a second chance, how she betrayed me in a way that time can never fully heal, how abandoned me."

She took a drag of her cigarette, and ashed it.

"But then I told her that…something came over me. I told her that I didn't think she would have tried to track me down if she truly wasn't sorry for what she did, if she truly didn't regret it. I told her that her actions did mean something to me, but that I wasn't ready to forgive her yet. Hell, I don't forgive her for what she did, and I don't know if I ever will. And, that's when I told her that I didn't….I didn't want to live the rest of my life regretting what could have been so I…I told her that I would give her another chance."

Arnold nodded, taking a sip of his beer, waiting for her to continue.

"But I…"

"You…"

"I don't know! I just…I'm wondering if I did the right thing. You know, once upon a time I told myself that for the rest of my life, Miriam could fuck off, that I would never have anything to do with her. Ever. That it was fine if Olga wanted to keep in contact with her, but I would be out of the picture. That was my plan. But then, all of a fucking sudden, she fucking shows up, and asks for another chance. I mean, she did track me down, so I had no choice but to believe her sincerity, but at the same time, I'm questioning her sincerity. I'm questioning everything I promised myself. I'm questioning if I did the right fucking thing….OW!"

While she was ranting to Arnold, Helga accidentally shoved the lit end of her cigarette onto her hand.

Arnold jumped up, and ran into the house to get some ice, a band-aid and some ointment. When he got back, he gingerly took Helga's hand in his.

"Let me see it, sweetie."

The burn mark was starting to turn into a small welt. Arnold placed the ice cube onto the offending mark, causing Helga to hiss sharply.

"Sorry, but this needs to be done. Wouldn't want the bride to be to have a burn mark on her delicate hand."

Helga chuckled at this.

When Arnold was done patching his fiancé up, he took both of her hands in his, and smiled at her.

"Helga…I can't say that I know what you are going through, because I don't. I really don't. I won't say that I know how you feel, when I have no idea. But what I do know is this: you are the most kind-hearted, strongest woman I have ever met in my life. You have a big heart. "

Helga smiled sweetly at her husband to be.

"You have a big heart. And even though I know you're very cautious about who you trust, who you're loyal to, because of what you've been put through. But, when you trust, when you express your loyalty, I know you Helga. You give it your all. "

"But I…"

Arnold placed a finger on her lips.

"Nope. No butts, Helga. Just take my word for it. I think it's wonderful that you're willing to give your mother another chance. "

"But, do you think she deserves it? Deserves forgiveness?"

Arnold shrugged.

"Only you can decide whether or not she deserves it, Helga. And forgiveness? Many kids have gone through what you've gone through. Some have chosen to forgive the parent who betrayed them. Others have chosen to never see or talk to their parent ever again. Helga, there is no one way to move on from something, nor is there just one way to forgive someone. Just because you're choosing to open yourself up to the possibility doesn't mean what you're doing is wrong."

Helga stared at Arnold for a while, contemplating what he just told her.

Then, she sighed. He was right. There was no way that was set in stone that commanded how forgiveness be dealt, or who deserved for that matter. As human beings, we choose to forgive the ones who hurt us. And even though Helga still believed that Miriam didn't deserve her forgiveness automatically, even though Miriam would have to work very hard to earn Helga's trust and forgiveness, she appreciated what Arnold was saying to her. His understanding and kind nature were just two of many reasons why she fell in love with him in the first place.

Whatever happened with Miriam, Helga knew she would always have Arnold.

Sneak peeks into further chapters:

Helga sets some ground rules for her mom.

Big Bob makes another appearance.

Helga opens up to her mom a bit more, but trust and forgiveness is still a long way off.

More sisterly bonding.

What Helga wants is…?

The Bachelorette Party.

Something Happens.

If I say anymore, I'll ruin it.


	22. Chapter 21: Boundaries

Review Responses:

Ok, before I start the actual responses, I've been noticing that a couple of you have expressed concerns about cheating.

Helga cheating? Not likely. In fact, never. Helga is extremely loyal to those she loves and cares about. And Arnold would never cheat on the person he loved, either. They're not that type of people.

Lol, she's more the type of person to throw a girl down, if she ever caught one all over Arnold.

Now, onto the reviews:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for the review.

Oh, there will be more scenes with Helga and Arnold.

zerozeno:

Thanks for reviewing my story. I hope you're enjoying it, so far!

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for the review, and no worries about reviewing so late. However, if you want, I can send you pm's letting you know that I've updated.

Lol, husband? Oh, they're not married yet.

Oh, who am I kidding, they practically are!

It's going to take a lot of work for Miriam and Helga to rekindle their relationship. This story is supposed to be about forgiveness, or at least, choosing to consider forgiving someone who hurt you in some way.

Chapter Twenty One: Boundaries

Helga tapped her pink pen to her lips, thinking about what sort of boundaries she could set for her mother, a pink notebook sprawled on her bare legs.

Not too long ago, she had approved her mom's request about another chance. Helga still didn't know if she was doing the right thing, but she wasn't about to back out and break her part of the deal.

But still, that didn't mean that she would just allow her mom to re-enter her life that easily. No, Miriam would have to prove her worth to Helga.

It had to be much more than just "I'm sorry." So much more.

'Definitely no questioning my actions. I am a grown woman after all.' Helga thought, writing it down, 'Besides, she lost that right when she decided to leave.'

So far, Helga had five boundary rules written down: no calling after 6 PM, the calls would be limited to twenty minutes and no more. No coming over to the house, no giving lectures, no bringing up the divorce and no complaining about the boundaries.

They would seem ridiculous to most people, but Helga Pataki had her reasons.

She simply wasn't allowing Miriam to get too close. Not yet, anyway.

Maybe not ever.

She picked up her cell phone, studying the time. It was 2:30. She had agreed to meet Miriam at her apartment around 2:45, where she would go over the rules and boundaries with her mother.

She got up, and went to grab her car keys, deciding that she would just go over there in what she was already wearing: a pair of pink jeans shorts and a white spaghetti strap tank top. Her blonde hair had been tied up in a pony tail.

She slipped on some black flip flops, and made her way out the door to her car, her notebook in her hand.

She got in, shut the door, pulled out her phone, and texted Miriam, letting her know that she was on her way.

The drive to the apartment complex didn't take very long.

In truth, Helga had been here before, when she offered her mother a ride. However, she never got out of her car to go up and actually see the apartment.

Her phone beeped, indicating that she got a text message. She discovered that it was from Miriam, who had told her to park on the street, since only residents were allowed to park in the complex.

'Well that's just fucking convenient.'

Nevertheless, Helga did manage to find parking, just across the street from the complex.

She got out of her car, and made her way over to the building.

Making her way up the stairs (the elevator was out of order), to apartment number 206, Helga began to wonder just how things would go.

She was nervous, that much was true. It wasn't even that she was afraid if Miriam didn't agree to the terms. No, that wasn't it at all. As far as Helga was concerned, Miriam could either take it or leave it.

Helga was nervous, because she honestly didn't know what to expect when she finally entered her mom's apartment.

When she got to room 206, she knocked on the door.

Within seconds, the door opened, and there stood Miriam.

The older woman smiled warmly at her daughter.

"Helga! Please, come in!

Helga said nothing, but stepped inside, and Miriam closed the door.

She studied her mom's apartment room. To the left, there was a small kitchen and a dining room table. To the right was a small sofa, an arm chair, a coffee table and a television set. There was also a hallway, which Helga suspected led to the bathroom and Miriam's bedroom.

But what caught Helga the most, was how clean the apartment was. When she was married to Bob, Miriam barely even tried to keep a clean house. Sure, she vacuumed every now and then, but most of the time she was passed out from being drunk all the time.

"Can I get you anything? I have water, juice and soda. There's no alcohol here. I've been staying away from it, you know."

"Ah, uhm…a soda would be great, I guess."

Miriam walked over the fridge, and pulled out a cola.

"Would you like it in a glass with ice, or…"

"No thanks. Out of the can is just fine."

Miriam handed her daughter the soda.

"So, there was something that you wanted to talk to me about."

Helga took a sip of her soda.

"Uh, yeah. Uhm…I've come up with some boundaries for you."

Miriam blinked.

"Oh…ok, why don't we sit over on the couch."

Helga shrugged, but nonetheless followed her mother to the couch.

"Now, what kind of boundaries?"

Helga waved her hand.

"Don't worry. It's not like you can't talk to me in public, or you can't introduce me as your daughter, nothing like that. However, I do have some ground rules for you. For instance, no calling after 6 PM. 6 PM is Arnold's and my time, yes I'm living with him, we are together, and that's all I'm going to tell you. And all calls are to be limited to 20 minutes, and no more. And don't call me all the time, you know, maybe like a couple times a week or so. Also, no coming over. Yeah, you did last time, but I'll let that one slide, but honestly Miriam, I'm not ready to allow that. Not yet, anyway. Oh, and absolutely no questioning any of my decisions. If I talk to you about something, just listen, and if I want your advice, I'll ask it.

By now, Helga had gotten up from the couch, and was pacing the room, listing off the so-called boundaries on her fingers.

"Let's see, what else…Oh! No talking about the divorce, no bringing up the past. If you really want to show me you deserve to be in my life, as a mother, an actual mother, then you will not only respect my wishes, and you will not bring up the past. If you want to move forward, then great, but no bringing up the past.

Miriam stared at her daughter.

She wouldn't admit it right there, but she was said that her daughter wasn't allowing her to visit, and had chosen to start the whole "another chance thing" at a distance.

However, she also knew that the entire situation was very delicate. If Helga wasn't ready to have her mother over, than Miriam would have to respect that.

Miriam nodded, indicating that she was ready to respect Helga's wishes.

Helga finished the last of her soda.

"Of course, if you want to meet somewhere, that's….ok, I guess, just…just call me in advance. Anyway, that's all I have for now. If I can think of anything else, I'll let you know, but it's not likely. Anyway, I have to get going. There's some stuff I need to get done."

She got up, put her can on the counter table by the kitchen, and made her way to the door.

Before she left, Helga turned towards her mother

"I'll talk to you later, I guess."

And she left without saying another word.

And Miriam stood there, closely studying the space where her daughter just stood. She wanted so badly to hug Helga, god did she want to hug her, but she didn't. She couldn't.

Not with how things were. She was lucky, damn lucky that Helga agreed to give her another chance.

The last thing Miriam wanted to do was screw it all up.


	23. Chapter 22: Out with Big Bob

Chapter Twenty Two: Out with Big Bob

Helga pulled into the parking lot of Ben's Café , where she was meeting her father for lunch.

Arnold was currently working on a project for his internship, and as such, was quite busy.

She walked into the café, where she noticed her dad, who had already snagged a table.

"Good to see you again, kid."

Helga smiled at her father, and took a seat.

"So, how are the wedding plans going? You and that Arnold kid got a date set yet, or what?"

"Well, we decided on April 23rd. That's when the blossoms are out, and we both thought getting married under the blossoming trees would look very nice."

Big Bob nodded, agreeing with his daughter. Blossoming trees would indeed add a nice touch to the wedding.

"How have you been otherwise?"

Helga was about to answer, when a waiter came over.

"Hello, welcome Ben's Café. My name is Andy, and I will be your waiter for today, can I get you anything to drink?"

"A Yahoo Soda for me."

"Same."

Andy wrote down the orders in his note book.

"And are you two ready to order, or…"

"Yeah, we're ready. Helga, you already know what you want.

Bob had ordered a large steak with mash potatoes and a side of fries. Helga ordered the pastrami sandwich with a side of tomato soup. Since it was her favorite dish at the café, she ordered it every single time.

In no time, Any returned with their drinks.

"So, what's been going on, Helga? Haven't seen you since you announced that you were engaged."

"I've been good, but something very weird happened."

"Yeah?"

He picked up his soda, and took a sip of it.

"You won't believe who showed up at my door not too long ago."

"Hm?" He grunted through his drink.

"Miriam."

The name of his ex wife caused Bob to choke on his soda. Helga stared at her dad for a moment, before casually slipping him a glass of water, which had already been filled and was on the table.

Bob chugged the water down, and coughed a few more times, before clearing his throat, and pounding his fist punching his chest.

When he came to, he looked at Helga in complete disbelief.

"Mi…Miriam? Helga, you pulling my leg?"

Helga shook her head.

"Nope. I was busy making more wedding plans when I heard the doorbell ring. When I opened it, hello, there's Miriam."

"Well, what did she want?"

Ever since the divorce, Bob hadn't bothered to contact Miriam. He did send her a few of her things, but after that, he pushed his ex wife out of his mind.

And she hadn't contacted him either. His oldest daughter, Olga, would sometimes tell him how Miriam was doing, and even though Bob would grunt at this and say, "that's nice to hear," he honestly didn't really care. It wasn't that he hated Miriam, or anything, far from it, but he filed for divorce for a reason. Dwelling on Miriam would have defeated the whole purpose of moving on with his life.

"Well, she told me that she was really sorry for everything that she had done."

"Ok."

"And she also wanted me to give her another chance."

Big Bob's eyes widened.

"S…seriously?"

Helga nodded.

"Yep. Not only that, she went to rehab. Now, I know what you're thinking, that what Miriam said about rehab has to be total bullshit, but it's not. She showed me the papers, and they were legit as fuck."

That caught Bob's attention. Not once did Miriam ever try to get help when they were married. Instead of counseling, or medication, or anything actually legitimate, she would turn to the bottle, drinking her misery away, instead of actually facing it.

So for Bob to hear that Miriam, the same woman who got a DUI two years after Helga was born (he verbally ripped her a new one that night) had checked herself into rehab, was shocking to say the least.

"So…what made her go in the first place?

"She told me that she almost died from alcohol poisoning."

"Holy shit."

"That's exactly what I thought.

Internally, Big Bog have a huge snort at the irony of it all. One would have thought the divorce would have been a wakeup call for Miriam. Instead, it was almost dying of alcohol poisoning.

Well, at least she got her problem under control now. In all honesty, Bob did hope that she was doing well, now that he heard she had been to rehab.

He wasn't about to bother with a phone call, though.

"So, she asked you for another chance, did she?.

Well, at least she got her problem under control now. In all honesty, Bob did hope that she was doing well, now that he heard she had been to rehab

He wasn't about to bother with a phone call, though.

"So, she asked you for another chance did she?"

Helga nodded.

"Sure did."

"So, what did you decide?"

"I told her I would give her another chance, but also let her know that I wasn't going to welcome her back just like that. Even set up some boundaries with her. "

Bob said nothing, instead, waiting for his daughter to finish.

"Except…I don't know. Do you think I'm doing the right thing? I mean Arnold's really supportive of it, hell he would have been supportive if I flat out said no to Miriam, but I just…"

"Kid, anyone can see that this was a difficult decision to make for you. But, you're the only one who knows whether or not you're doing the right thing. Actually, come to think of it, it's not a matter of right or wrong, what you're doing is a personal choice. If you had said no to Miriam, it wouldn't have been wrong of you."

"Well, what would you have done?"

Her father smirked.

"You already know what I did. I divorced her. I did what I thought was best, you do what you think is best."

Helga thought for a moment, and then nodded. Minutes later, their food came. Father and daughter talked more and more, but Helga's mind was somewhere else.


	24. Chapter 23: Memories

Chapter Twenty Three: Memories

Today was Friday, and Arnold had the day off from his internship. So, naturally, he and Helga decided to make the most of it, by having an indoor date.

Helga had offered to make dinner: baked chicken with lemon, salt and pepper, and a side of steamed vegetables and rice.

Arnold had gone to the store, and bought some drinks. They're alcohol cabinet was running low, and Helga had mentioned stocking up again.

To Helga's happiness, he bought her a bottle of her favorite, Sakura Vodka. It was a bright pink carbonated vodka that had a scent and taste of cherry blossoms. Helga often liked to mix it with any clear carbonated drink. Tonic water was her favorite one to combine it with.

In fact, they had decided to make this indoor date a night of dining and drinking. They had shut off their phones and disconnected from all chat rooms they were a part of, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone, or anything.

It was 7 PM on a Friday, and Helga and Arnold were curled up together on the couch in front of the coffee table, plates of food and drinks in front of them. Helga's head was resting on Arnold's shoulder, and his arm was wrapped around her waist.

Suddenly, Helga's face lit up, and she pulled away from Arnold.

"Hey, this is random, but remember the time when you first found out that I was in love with you?"

Arnold frowned, and within seconds, burst out laughing.

"Sure do! You were reciting a huge monologue, when I walked in on you professing your love to me. Helga, the look on your face was priceless!"

Helga gave him a light punch to the shoulder.

"Oh, screw you!" There was laughter in her voice, "You know how much hate it when people sneak up on me! Brainy used to do it all the time."

"Heh, oh yeah, that's right. He would often come to class with broken glasses. From the look on your face, I had a feeling you had something to do with it. Speaking of which, Helga, just why did you bean him in the face all the time?"

Helga picked up her Sakura Vodka and Tonic, and leaned back into the couch.

"Well, to be honest, so you know how you walked in on me in the middle of one of my long ass monologues?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, truth be told, football head, I've been doing those monologues since the very day I met you."

Arnold's eyes grew wide.

"Se…seriously? You were in love with me since we were three years old?"

"Yep. Anyway, I would usually go behind a trash can, a car, a dumpster, any place where I thought I could get a little privacy. Every single time this happened, I would hear this creepy breathing sound."

And Helga began imitating Brainy, causing Arnold to chuckle.

"So, I decked him. Seriously think the kid had a crush on me, or some weird shit like that."

Arnold smirked.

"Some weird shit like that? This coming from the same girl who built a shrine to me in the back of her closet?"

Cue Helga choking on her drink. She hadn't ever told him that!

"Who the fuck told you!"

Arnold burst out laughing, holding his hands up defensively as the fiery blonde began interrogating the hell out of him.

"Nope, not going to say. Aww, Helga, don't give me that look. Sure, it was a bit…strange, but it's nice to know you had so much respect and affection for me, even though you barely showed it."

Helga's face fell.

"It was…hard. I mean, I wanted to tell you, so many times, I really, really did, Arnold, but every single time I tried, I was either mean to you, or I saw you drooling over some other girl. Not to mention, I was always afraid of you rejecting me."

Arnold stared at Helga. She had never shared something like this with him.

But he also had questions of his own.

"Helga, let me ask you something. There were other guys in our class, why did you pick me?"

Helga sighed.

"Because, Arnold, you…you were the only one that actually made the effort to talk to me. Hell, you even offered to share your umbrella with me. You did so many kind things for me. Look, Arnold, you showed me more kindness than my own family did. The morning you saw me walking in the rain, I had walked by myself to school."

Arnold stopped her at that point.

"Wait. You mean to tell me that your parents _let_ you walk all by yourself, to school, in the rain, when you were three years old?"

Helga let out a loud snorted that sounded like, "You're joking, right?"

"Pfft, please! They barely even noticed They were too busy gushing over Olga to even care. Don't get me wrong, Arnoldo, I'm glad that Mary Sunshine and I are closer than we were, hell, I'm glad I'm closer to my dad, even, but…I don't know, I guess I feel…I still feel a slight resentment towards it all."

She offered him a small smile.

"Honestly, football head I…"

"Don't worry, Helga, I know."

He was right, words weren't needed for her to tell him how much she appreciated him being in her life.

This moment was something that Helga Pataki had only dreamed about, and now, that dream had become a reality. What was once a vision of love and affection, a small girl's fantasies of adoration, had finally become real. Sometimes, Helga would stare at her engagement ring for long periods of time, just to be sure that she wasn't dreaming, just to be sure that she wouldn't wake up in her bed, and be nine years old again, the amazing moment nothing more than a dream. She would be her usual scowling self, and Arnold would be fawning over Lila.

"But," Arnold's voice dragged Helga from her thoughts, "you can also look at it this way, Helga: everything that happened is a thing of the past. You're starting a whole new life, and whole new family with me. Besides, with our genes, our kids would…"

She slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Put a sock in it, Arnoldo! The last thing I want to think about is kids, right now."

Arnold blinked.

"Oh? You don't want kids?"

Helga shook her head.

"It's not that, I mean, I'm not opposed to the idea, not at all. It's just, I want to enjoy married life for a bit before I turn into a pink, blonde planet."

Arnold chuckled at this.

"You mean pregnant?"

"Pregnant, planet, same thing."

Arnold seriously had to laugh at that. Trust Helga to put a sarcastic, yet humorous mood on something such as pregnancy.

He pulled her closer to him, and kissed the top of her head, both lovers basking in this very moment, wishing that it didn't have to end.

Before long, both were fast asleep.


	25. Chapter 24: Arnold's POV

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for the review.

I definitely wanted to portray Bob and Helga having a much more stable relationship in this story, than what they had on the show. Bob was not the best of fathers, but there were episodes that showed that he truly did love Helga.

And yes, Arnold was one of the first people that showed Helga kindness and compassion, and such an act meant so much to Helga, more than I think Arnold would ever know.

Chapter 24: POV of Arnold

Arnold glared at his report for his internship, on some ancient Egyptian artifacts, under the bright light. It was three in the morning, and he had already written four pages.

But dear GOD, was he tired. He had to get it done though, as it had to be in by eight in the morning.

Five hours left. Awesome!

He got up from his chair and decided to make himself a cup of coffee. He could sleep after he got his work in, but for now, he had to grin and bear it.

Well, he would bear it, but he sure as hell wasn't grinning.

Thank god Helga had prepared a pot for him before she went to bed.

Speaking of Helga, his thoughts had been stuck on everything that had happened within the past five years.

To this very day, even now, he would let out a slight chuckle at how they ended up together. All it took was a secret monologue, him walking in on it, and Helga stammering like no tomorrow.

True, it wasn't how either of them believed it would have happened, but it happened.

Actually, Arnold never thought he would end up with Helga. Before she confessed to him (she really had no choice at that time, denying it would have been downright silly), he was still hung up on Lila (1). Several times had she said there was a chance for them, and several times he followed her, like a lovesick puppy.

And then, then Arnold got tired of waiting for Lila. Truth be told, if you had asked him why he hung on for so long, he would have shrugged his shoulders and muttered that he had no clue. Maybe it was hope, maybe it was denial.

Arnold did not end up with Lila, the girl everyone loved. The girl every teacher favored. The girl who had perfect hair, perfect teeth and perfect clothes. She was smart and kind as well. Seriously, what guy wouldn't like Lila?

Instead, he ended up with Helga. The girl who bullied him back in the fourth grade. The girl who shot spitballs at him in class. The girl who could probably go toe to toe with Wolfgang (2), if she wanted to. Sure, he probably would have beaten the crap out of her, but that did not mean Helga would have gone down without a fight. Sure, she avoided him at all costs, but Arnold knew Helga would have thrown down, if she had to.

Would she have one? Probably not. Wolfgang was huge, but she would have gotten in a punch or two.

Yes, Arnold ended up with Helga. Fate really did have such a sense of humor.

But, he honestly could not have been happier. As she grew, Helga not only improved in looks, but in maturity as well. Actually, she was always pretty mature for her age, but she got even better with time.

In truth, after he started dating Helga, Arnold began thinking that he and Lila probably would never have worked out. He liked her, sure, but that was about it. After he had given up on her, he didn't really make any effort to talk to her. He even thought there was something about her that was…superficial, to say the least (3).

Helga, however, Helga was real. With Helga, what you saw was what you got. She was rough around the ages and nowhere near dainty like. She didn't obsess with making herself look good, nor did she ever feel the need to change who she was, or her appearance, to fit in with the crowd.

To Arnold, that was pretty amazing.

They had an amazing relationship. Sure, they had their fights and whatnot, but what couple didn't? He pissed her off sometimes, and she pissed him off sometimes, but they always managed to work through it.

And then, he proposed to her. It took him five years to realize he wanted her for a wife, that she was the one he wanted to grow old with. What started out as uncertainty, and "let's just see where it goes," turned into visions of little feet running around the house, and him and Helga growing old together.

He didn't even tell her that he was planning to propose. Sure, they talked about marriage, Helga was the one who usually brought it up. His answer was always "eventually, perhaps," and "I know, Helga, but, I'm just not ready."

God, did those answers drive her crazy.

He knew she loved him, oh did she love him. However, he was not about to take advantage of that love. She loves me, so she'll wait as long as I want/need her to, was not acceptable.

Not to mention, it would have been completely unfair to Helga. In fact, Arnold had seen it happen to some of the guys back in college. They showered their girlfriends with sweet words like, "marriage and wife." They'd say pretty sentences like, "I can see you as my wife," but in reality? It was all talk. Nothing more than a man who talked the talk but didn't have the balls to walk the walk, and eventually the woman they were with at the time grew tired of their man's bullshit and packed up, leaving that sucker in the dust. No use in staying with a man who says he wants to marry you, but in reality, he's just saying that so you'll stay with him.

Arnold never wanted to be that kind of a man. He believed that if you were going to say something as serious as wanting to marry your girlfriend, then you should keep your word.

Eventually, Helga dropped all talk of marriage, which was perfect for him. He wanted her to be as surprised as possible, when he got down on one knee.

He even picked out the ring all by himself. It took him weeks to find the perfect one, but he found it. Sure, he was still making payments on it, but to him, that didn't matter. The moment he saw the ring, he knew it belonged to Helga. One could even say that it made been made specifically for her.

To Arnold, their relationship couldn't have been more perfect. Ok, so there was no such thing as a perfect relationship, but to him, it was perfect.

Notes:

One: I didn't want to make up a whole different character, so the first person that came to mind was Lila.

Two: Wolfgang was one of the fifth grade bullies who tormented the fourth graders. According to the Hey Arnold wiki, Wolfgang was created when Toran Caudell, who played Arnold in seasons one and two, couldn't play Arnold anymore because his voice was changing.

Three: I don't know why, but there was always something about Lila, that personally, struck me as being fake Maybe it was the way she talked. I don't know, but she's my least favorite character. She's not a bad person, but there's just something about her that seems rather superficial.

I mean, hey, I knew that girl had problems when she chose Arnie over Arnold. That episode should have been called, "Are You Kidding Me, Lila?!"

Also, I am a firm believer in you should never pressure anyone, man or woman, into a marriage that they don't want, or aren't ready for. However, I do think saying you want to marry someone is very serious and should, in my honest opinion, never be said unless you mean it for sure. If you're not ready for marriage, or don't want to get married, then you need to be honest with the person you are with. It's not fair to them if you're stringing them along. And in my opinion, telling someone that you'll marry them, when in reality you're just saying that to get them to stay with you, is a pretty crappy thing to do to someone.


	26. Chapter 25: Much Ado About Miriam

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for your review, and I will be more than happy to send you pm, letting you know when I have updated this fic.

Dear lord, Lila does have such weird taste in men. I mean, Arnie over Arnold? Something tells me that under all that perfection, there is a very strange side to that girl that would have been too inappropriate for television.

Also, I wanted Miriam to have gone through rehab, in this fic. I mean, you don't see her going through it, but I thought Miriam telling Helga she checked herself in would have been enough to make Helga think that maybe, just maybe, her mother was serious about getting her life together.

How did Arnold find out about the shrine? That might make for a one shot. Don't know yet, though.

acosta perez jose ramiro: 

Thank you for reviewing.

Lol, yes, Lila does have some strange taste in men. I still can't get over that.

Chapter 25: Much Ado About Miriam

"And that's basically what she told me." Helga stated, placing her wine back on the bar counter.

Olga's eye widened.

Helga had just gotten through telling the older blonde that their mother had wormed her way back into Helga's life, or was, at the very least, in the process of doing so.

Needless to say, Olga was quite surprised. Helga had always said that she wanted nothing to do with Miriam, after the divorce was finalized.

Truth be told, as sad it all was, Olga couldn't say she blamed her sister.

Olga never wanted to be a part of the divorce, but her mother has convinced her to testify. She did everything she could to get out of it, but when she got a summons to appear as a witness, all hope was lost. The only thing she could do, was testify as fast as she could, and get it all over with.

When Miriam announced that she never wanted Helga, it was the last straw. The very words coming out of your own other, about your own sister, had to be devastating in the least.

However, the difference between Helga and Olga, was that Olga was willing to keep in contact with their mother. In the beginning, it was strictly on a phone to phone basis. Eventually, mother and daughter did start seeing each other in person.

Helga, on the other hand, had to be tracked down by Miriam. Well, actually, it was more like Helga running into her estranged mother on accident, twice, and then Miriam tracking down her youngest daughter.

"Are…are you serious, Helga?"

Helga rewarded her sister with a blank stare.

"Does this face look like I'm kidding? Anyways, not only that, but she also went to rehab for her alco…."

Olga jumped up, nearly knocking over her own glass of wine in the process.

"What? Mother went to rehab? Why? Is she ok? Is she out? What happened? What…"

"DAMNIT, OLGA, CHILL THE FUCK OUT! Seriously, sometimes I think you should take a job as an interrogator. To answer all of your questions: Miriam went to rehab because nearly dying of alcohol poisoning was a wakeup call—don't give me that look, she's fine—and yes, she is out."

Olga finally sat down, and sighed in relief.

Their mother was ok? Thank…thank goodness. Miriam may have caused a lot of pain, but she didn't want her mother to die.

She knew Helga felt the same.

"Uhm…how is….how is everything going so far? You know, with letting mother back in and all?"

Helga flagged down the bar tender, and ordered a cosmopolitan.

"It's….going. I set up some boundaries for her to follow. I'm not just going to let her back in to my life, just like that. She has to prove herself worthy of that. Heh, to be honest, I surprised myself at just how agreeable I was. If this has been right after the divorce, I would have booted that woman out the door."

She continued after taking a sip of her drink. She wasn't too worried about getting drunk, Olga had picked her up and would take her home. No drunk driving here.

Something Helga was very against, for personal reasons.

"But, you know, she seemed pretty honest about feeling horrible for fucking everything up. And she did go through all the trouble of tracking me down. I don't think she would have done that if she didn't care."

Olga nodded. For Miriam to track Helga down, just to apologize, she understand why that spoke volumes to Helga, even if the girl wasn't entirely ready to open the metaphorical door all the way just yet.

But, she was curious about one thing:

"What type of boundaries, Helga? You mentioned boundaries."

"Oh you know, stuff like no coming over to the house. I told her if she wants to see me, then we can meet up somewhere. I'm just not ready to have her in my home right now. I feel like that's taking things too fast." Helga responded.

Translation: If Miriam was going to force her entire family to wait ten years for her to finally realize just how badly she fucked up by abandoning them for her own selfish needs, then Helga was going to make Miriam wait until the 24 year old woman finally decided that Miriam was worthy of getting back into Helga's life.

Maybe it was childish. Maybe it was vindictive. But the fact of the matter is, you don't just leave your family because you can't take it anymore, drop almost all contact with them, and then come back ten years later, acting like you cared.

It just doesn't work that way.

"How does Arnold feel about it?"

Helga shrugged.

"Arnold is Arnold. He's being very supportive of everything. I think he's just happy as long as I am."

Olga nodded.

"That's good to hear. By the way, does mother know you are engaged?"

Helga shook her head so violently, Olga was almost afraid that her sister's head was going to pop right off.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Not yet. I'm not ready to tell her that yet. Maybe I will tell her, and maybe I won't. But for right now, she doesn't need to know."

"I understand that Helga, but wouldn't it be nice if….well, why don't you want mother at your wedding?"

Helga looked at her sister.

"Because I'm afraid of….look, I just…I don't want her to suddenly think she has to help me plan anything to do with my wedding. I don't want her to try and take control of everything…AUGH! She doesn't have the right to know, ok?"

Olga sighed. Despite the fact that she too, was deeply hurt by her mother's actions, Miriam still would have been quite welcome at her wedding (when and if that day ever came). However, this wasn't her wedding, it was Helga's. They may have been sisters, but they were also completely different people. Olga may have thought that Miriam attending Helga's wedding would really help matters along, but she also knew that she had to respect Helga's wishes. Her younger sister didn't have to say it: Olga knew better than to tell Miriam. Doing so would be blatantly breaking Helga's trust.

And, after everything that had happened, she knew Helga would not be able to take another person, another family member, destroying her trust. There was just no way.

Helga managed to keep her engagement a secret from Miriam to the best of her ability. Whenever she saw Miriam, she would make sure that she wasn't wearing her engagement ring.

Arnold had noticed about it, and asked. The boy almost came to the crazy conclusion that she had lost it. Crazy, because anything of Arnold's, or from Arnold, Helga Pataki guarded it with her life. When she told him why she wasn't wearing her ring, he did seem to accept her reasoning, and he was quite relived when she told him it was in her jewelry box, safely tucked away.

"Give me some credit here, Football head," she had told him, "Do you honestly think I would lose something as important as that?"

Olga finished the last of her wine.

"Well, if that's what you think is best Helga."

"It IS what's best. Maybe I'll tell her, and maybe I won't, but right now, she doesn't need to know. Right now, I don't want her to know. "

Olga nodded, not wanting to press the matter any further.

She sincerely hoped that Helga would tell Miriam, though.

Guess they would all just have to wait.


	27. Chapter 26: The Meet Up

Chapter 26: The Meet Up

Helga did not want to do this. She really did not feel like meeting her mother for coffee. She would much rather curl up on the couch with a glass of wine and a magazine, or curl up with a glass of wine and work on her blog, and take smoke breaks every hour or so.

But, she told her mother she would meet for coffee, and Helga Pataki never broke commitments. And if her mom was willing to work hard to enter back into her daughter's life, then it was only fair that Helga kept up her end of the bargain as well.

She wasn't going to give her a mom a ride home though. The last time she did that was a onetime thing, first, last and only.

No, Miriam could take the bus.

She walked into the coffee shop to see her mother sitting at a table, coffee mug in front of her. She had already ordered.

Helga indicated to her mother with a curt nod, before going up to the barista and ordering a Cappuccino with three pumps of chocolate.

When she got her drink, she made her way over to her mother, and sat down across from her.

Miriam smiled at her daughter.

"It's very nice to see you, Helga."

Helga shrugged.

"Yeah, it's…nice to see you too."

"How is everything? How are you and Arnold?"

"Everything is good. Arnold and I are good. He's currently at the museum, about to finish up his internship.

Miriam's eyes widened with interest.

"Oh? An internship? What does he do there?"

"He's interning with the archeology department. I think that's what he wants to go into, as a career."

Helga couldn't help but smile at this. Arnold always had a fascination for history and ancient artifacts. She supposed he got the inspiration from his parents.

"Well, that sounds like fun. So, how…how long have you two been together?"

"Oh, about…five years. We moved into together about two years into our relationship. "

"Ah, that's nice. If you uhm…don't mind me asking, but, has there…has there been any talk of marriage?"

Helga went into "Quick! Make-something-up!" overdrive, and began shaking her head rapidly from side to side.

"Oh, god no, I mean…not yet anyway. I don't know if we ever will, we both, you know, feel like it's still too soon, and there's…things we want to do first."

'That's right Helga!' she thought, 'just make something up. Too soon, want to do more, perfect."

Her mother smiled, and nodded her head.

"I think that's very wise of you Helga. It's always good to wait before making such a huge commitment. You always were smart like that."

Miriam actually was very glad that Helga was not rushing into marriage. The women in her family had a habit of doing so. Her parents did it, but then again, things were done differently when they got married. Olga almost did it, almost rushed into a marriage that both Bob and Miriam, despite liking Doug (1), was a huge mistake (Miriam especially begged her not to go through with it), and Miriam herself did it, but that was due to being young, dumb, and in love. But, look where that got her? A divorce, and a daughter who didn't want to see her ever again, until just recently. True, there were exceptions to every rule. There were people out there who did get married young, who did rush into marriage, yet their marriages lasted for years, and they were happy marriages. The point being? Miriam didn't want the same thing for her daughters. No, she wanted her children to live life, to explore, before settling down.

Helga raised an eyebrow. Did her mother just pay her a compliment?

"Uhm…thanks I guess. But, no, there hasn't been any talk of marriage. "

"But your relationship is ok, otherwise?"

Helga nodded, sipping at her drink.

"Yeah, everything is going fine."

To Helga's surprise, this wasn't as awkward as she believed it was going to be. She imagined that the entire conversation would be filled with "uhms" and "uhs" and long pauses, but it wasn't. Instead, the conversation seemed…relaxed, and flowed so naturally. She almost could have said that she enjoyed it, even.

Miriam also felt relieved, at just how well everything was going so far. True, they still hadn't gotten to the point where they could be a normal mother and daughter, having a drink together, going shopping together, or just simply talking like a normal mother and daughter would. Getting to that point would take a while, she knew that much.

So, this moment, this very moment, was as good as it was going to get, for now, anyway.

"Do you…think marriage will ever happen?" Miriam asked, breaking the small silence.

Helga shrugged.

"I don't know…maybe. Arnold hasn't said anything about it, and I haven't brought it up. I mean, I'd like for it to happen, and if it does, I'll be very happy, but I don't want to pressure him into anything."

Miriam nodded. She had a few classmates way back in the day that relentless bugged their boyfriends into marriage, saying things like, "What's taking you so long?" "Am I not good enough?" "Well, I guess you don't love me as much as you say you do." Eventually, the guy they were with _did _propose. Not out of love, not out of wanting the woman they were with to spend the rest of her life with him, but out of pressure, out of the desire to get the marriage obsessed harpy to shut the hell up. Those marriages, from what Miriam remembered, didn't last more than three years, every single one ending in divorce because the man resented the woman for pressuring him into something he either didn't want, or wasn't ready for.

Miriam could sympathize with the divorce part, she had been there. She knew what it felt like. Divorce was painful, for everyone involved. Even though Bob had wanted it above all else, she still knew it killed him to do it. When he told her, he looked so broken, so sad, a man who been dragged to the end of his rope. She never thought she would see the day that happened.

And then, she and Bob were hell bent on destroying each other. She fought him, he fought her. It got so ugly, that in the days after the divorce was finalized, Miriam would cry herself to sleep, and the feeling of losing everything didn't even come close to devastating.

And Miriam would be damned if she ever saw that happen to one of her own children. No, she wouldn't let it happen to them.

She was about to tell Helga that she shouldn't rush into anything, but stopped. She remembered how Helga told her she didn't want her advice on anything, that she would have to earn the right to do so.

On the bright side though, Miriam was happy that both her children were with men that she and Bob had both met, and both honestly liked. Both men were polite, well-rounded, goal oriented people. Not to mention, both weren't too shabby in the looks department.

Helga finished up the last of her beverage, before standing up.

"Well, this was nice, but I have to get going. I have…things…that I need to do. You taking the bus?"

Miriam shook her head.

"No, my sister was kind of enough to give me her old car before she got a new one. It came just last week."

Helga raised an eyebrow.

"You're driving now? When did you get you license back?"

Miriam smiled.

"Oh about…a year after rehab. I had to retake all of the tests though. I swear, they make it so hard to pass a driving test these days. Well, I'll see you later, Helga, and once again, thank you for taking time to meet with me."

Helga nodded.

"Yeah, we'll, uh….we'll do this again sometime."

And mother and daughter parted ways once more.

Notes:

(1): Refer to episode "Olga Gets Engaged.


	28. Chapter 27: Weakening Resolve

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper:

Hey there! Thank you for the review.

Yes, Miriam is back driving, and whether or not Helga will allow her to be a guest at the wedding will be revealed later.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Hello, thank you for reviewing my story.

Olga eventually needed to realize, that one day, oh my god, Helga has grown up! In the show, the sisters were not close. In this fic, I wanted to slightly change that.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

What's up? Thanks for reviewing.

Lol, no, they'll see each other again.

Chapter 27: Weakening Resolve

Helga sat at her computer, typing away. She was working on a new entry for her blog. She had been posting a text about a new recipe she had tried: roast chicken glazed with lemon and garlic sauce, complimented by a side of roasted asparagus with sliced almonds and a drizzle of pesto sauce.

She had just finished typing the last line of her second paragraph, "…..huge hit with my guy, and on the plus side, it got me some amazing sex ;)…" when she noticed that her wine glass was empty. Better go fill it up.

She walked over to the couch, and opened up her bottle of sparkling red wine. She refilled her glass, and made her way back to her computer.

She stared at the screen for some time, before her eyes started to hurt. Deciding to take a break, she closed the computer, got up, and walked outside.

'I need a cigarette,' she thought, as she grabbed her pack and pink lighter.

Then, as she took her first drag, her thoughts drifted. It didn't sway towards Arnold, or her wedding (although, they both were on her mind for most of the time), but instead traveled towards her mother.

A lot had truly changed within the last five years. Watching her parents getting a divorce, getting into a relationship with Arnold, moving out of her dad's house (it wasn't her parent's house, as Miriam had never legally owned it), buying a house with Arnold, and getting engaged.

Helga's life truly was changing.

Then, her mother had returned, and asked for another chance. And Helga, reluctantly, agreed, but not before setting up boundaries.

But now, now Helga was confused. When her parents got their divorce, Helga vowed to never see or speak to her mom again, the only thing she had for the woman was resentment. But then her mom came back and…and…

It was just driving her crazy! Of all the times Helga had to waste her mind on something, this had to be one of them.

She lit up another cigarette, tonight being a chain smoking night.

'Heh. Might as well get drunk, while I'm at it.' She thought, as she placed the cigarette in the ashtray, and went back into the kitchen to get her bottle of wine.

She came back moments later, and poured herself another glass (she left her wine glass outside with her cigarette).

Helga didn't know what to do at this point. Before, she couldn't have cared less if she saw Miriam again. She couldn't have given less than a shit about her mother, but now? Now?

Now, she didn't know what to do..

It wasn't before long before a single tear rolled down Helga's eyes.

She wanted….she wanted a mom. A mom whom she could talk to. A mom that she could share a glass of wine with. A mom whom she could share secrets with. A mom whom she could have a shoulder to cry on when she was upset. But, Helga never had that. She never had any of that.

But she didn't know if she was ready to open up to Miriam. A person could take being betrayed only so much. And when that betrayal was by their own mother? Devastating didn't even come close to describing it.

Instead, she had two parents who, in the past, acted like they couldn't give a rip about her. She had two parents who were more concerned with themselves, than they were of her.

Sure, that had all changed. Now, she and her dad were a lot closer. Now, she and her sister got a long quite well.

So, why was she so sad?

Simple, it was because the pain of her childhood was still there. The pain of never having what she wanted most: someone who gave a damn about her, from the very beginning.

'I…I never had it.'

Helga threw her head into her knees and sobbed. She couldn't do anything else but cry. Cry for the lonely little girl still inside of her. Cry for the broken young woman.

Helga's sobs pierced the night sky.


	29. Chapter 28: Bridal Shower

Hey everyone!

I would just like to seriously apologize for this being so late! I've been experiencing a shit load of writers block, I have a paid internship, a memorial to go to for a friend of mine who passed away two months ago (I'm speaking), and a bunch of other crap.

But, I still wanted to give you guys a chapter, because I really do feel bad for making you guys wait. And this chapter is quite long.

Now, for the review responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for the review.

I think Helga's feeling towards Miriam and the wedding are completely understandable. Right now, Helga is experiencing a mix of emotions. She wants her mom to be there, but doesn't think her mom has earned that right, because of the fact that her mom was never there for her. If I was in Helga's position, I'd feel the same way.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i"

Thanks for the review.

I don't know how or if I'll include Arnold's grandparents. Since he's 24-25 in this, should they even still be alive?

Nairobi-Harper:

Thank you for reviewing.

I think every reader of this felt bad for Helga in this chapter. Even though she's an adult, the pain of her mom never being there still lives on. She wants to move on, but doesn't know how.

Chapter 28: Bridal Shower

"You're buying me coffee, Phoebes," Helga announced as she and Phoebe made their way into the coffee shop.

Phoebe had offered to take Helga out for a bit. The reason being? A few days ago, all of the bridesmaids had gotten together to plan a surprise bridal shower for Helga.

"Buying!" She said with a smile and drove off.

Helga so far had no clue what her bridal party was up to. The girls had gotten to Helga and Arnold's house around 9:30 AM, and hid in the shed in the back yard bags of bridal shower decorations in their hands. Phoebe had picked Helga up around 10 AM, and when they were sure they were gone, the girls burst into Helga's apartment (Olga had a spare key, which Helga had given her in case she wanted to drop by, even when no one was home, which was kind of weird ) and began decorating and cooking.

"So, you said you had something planned for me today?"

"Why, yes, Helga. There's a new café downtown that just opened up. I'm taking you out to breakfast."

Helga nodded, and layed her head back against the seat. She had been up practically all night, she had to look like some sort of corpse right now, even with the concealer and lip gloss she slapped on. Oh well, at least she was able to look nice with her clothes: a pair of dark blue jeans, and a pink sleeveless top with a black sash. Black flip flops adorned her feet.

"Ugh, I must look like shit right now."

"Helga, I think you look fine."

Helga snorted.

"Oh come on, Phoebes. You're only saying that because I'm the bride to be. You're just afraid I'll go all bridezilla on your ass if I disagree with you."

Phoebe burst out laughing as she found a parking spot in front of the café.

"We're here, Helga. Order whatever you like, it's on me."

Helga honestly wasn't very hungry, but some food might do her some good.

A waitress led them to their table. Helga grabbed the menu, and began looking through it. In no time, she picked out what she wanted: two eggs and two bacon slices. Oh, and coffee. Definitely coffee.

"So how is everything going with the wedding planning, Helga?"

Helga shrugged.

"It's going. "

Phoebe smiled.

"It's coming up fast isn't Helga. A month, I believe."

Helga looked up at Phoebe.

Damn, could her wedding with Arnold really be in one month? She was so busy with planning it, as well as staying in contact with her mother, that she barely noticed.

But, sure enough, it was one month away, and Helga could scarcely believe it. The boy she had secretly loved and admired, but teased mercilessly because she didn't want him to know the truth, was getting married to her in one month.

Was this…was this even real?

A waitress came over, knocking Helga right out of her thoughts. They ordered their food.

"So, uhm…how are the bridesmaids dresses fitting you all?" Helga asked, as she stabbed her fork into her eggs, letting the yolk run all over the plate.

"They're beautiful Helga. Even Rhonda approved of the classy yet simple design.

Helga smirked. Rhonda, since day one, had appointed herself as the fashion expert in Hillwood.

"Good to hear. I thought the shade of pink was just right. I know I liked hot pink when I was a kid, but now that I'm older, I don't know, I guess you could say hot pink is too much, even for me. "

Phoebe nodded.

The girls ate the food, Phoebe paid the bill, and they drove back to Helga and Arnold's house.

Helga was greatly surprised when Phoebe began walking towards the front door with her.

"Don't get me wrong, Phoebes, your company is always welcome, but I thought you had stuff to do today."

Phoebe gave her a knowing smile.

"Oh….those can wait, Helga."

Helga raised one slender blond eyebrow. What the hell was Phoebe up to?

Shrugging it off, she pulled out her house keys from her purse, and shoved them into the lock.

"Huh…I don't remember turning off the lights. What gives?"

Before she could flip the light switch, the lights came on and then…

"SURPRISE!"

Helga was almost bowled over by a group of people, all laughing and cheering.

She stood there, wide eyed.

The living room to the house had been completely transformed. Pink and white balloons hung from the walls, and some had been tied to chairs. The glass coffee table had been adorned with various hors d'ouveres. A pink cake stood in the center, and Helga could even see a table with one neatly wrapped present.

"Holy…holy shit, what…what is all this?"

"Phoebe got the idea to throw you a surprise bridal shower. "

To say Helga was shocked would be the same thing as watching someone react to someone being thrown over Niagara Falls, and living to tell the tale. The look on her face was so priceless, that Rhonda had yanked out her cell phone and snapped photo.

Nadine grabbed Helga's hand, and the girls led her to the living room.

"Oh….fuck….you guys. This….this is…wow, I…."

Olga threw her arms around her little sister.

"Oh, Helga. We wanted this to be extra special for you. "

"And as our girl, there was absolutely no way we were going to throw just any bridal shower. The champagne glasses on the table were hand made specifically for the Lloyds, and they've been in the family for years. I thought they would be simply perfect for this." Rhonda smiled.

"We're all just really happy for you, Helga. And quite honestly, none of us are surprised." Big Patty smiled.

"Yeah. Practically every girl knew later on how you felt about Arnold. How you shoved him into locked, plugged up the drinking fountain and then released the water into his face…" Nadine smirked

"Or how you tripped up in the hallway back when we were in middle school." Rhonda added.

"Of course it was obvious. After all, when a girl teases a guy as much as you did!"

Big Patty picked up on Helga's admiration for Arnold on the very same day she pretended to beat the living crap out of the then scrawny blonde nine year old.

Of course, even though all of the girls knew Helga's secret, she was their friend. It was only right that they kept it.

And besides, according to Rhonda, black eyes were "sooo not in fashion, like ever."

The girls ended up playing numerous bridal shower games. One of them being a game called "Name That Movie Quote!" (1) where Rhonda gave off a list of quotes from romantic movies, and the girls had to guess which movie that quote came from. Another game they played was called "Advice for the Bride." (2) The girls, save for Helga, each wrote down advice for the bride to be and her new life as a wife. Helga began to read them out loud to everyone.

When the games were over, it was time for Helga to open her present. Rhonda got the neatly wrapped flat box and handed it to her.

Helga placed the box on her lap, and began ripping off the wrapping.

She opened the box, and lifted up some white tissue paper.

Raising a slender eyebrow, she held up the item.

It was a provocatively short light pink night dress with lace around the hem and bodice. The bodice was of pink silk and laced up in the back. The neck line was cut dangerously short, and Helga could see two long slits on the side of the dress.

Helga smirked.

"Gee, wonder who gave me this." But there was an amused smile on her face.

Rhonda held up her hand, also smirking.

"Guilty as charged. I thought you could wear it for your man on your honeymoon."

Helga snorted.

"Are you kidding? The second he sees me in this, I don't think I'll ever be allowed to take it off, let alone leave the bathroom."

"Ooh, never would have pegged Arnold to be _that_ kind of a man."

"You have no idea."

"Ok, Helga, uhm, sweetie,…we also have another present for you. It's from all of us, combined."

Olga was very happy to be celebrating her sister taking such a huge step. Marriage was supposed to be a time of happiness. She honestly was very proud of her little sister, and of course she wanted to share in the festivities.

But Rhonda and Helga talking about Helga's sex life? That she could do without.

Course, she connected it with the number of mimosas both Helga and Rhonda had during the games. In fact, they turned one of them into a drinking game.

"Yes, actually, this gift kind of accompanies Rhonda's." Phoebe said.

Olga spoke up as well.

"Helga, we all wanted you and Arnold to have a very special honeymoon. So, all of us pitched in to buy you something."

"And when we say pitched in, it means I helped the most."

"Rhonda!"

"Kidding, sorry. Anyway, as Olga just said, we all pitched in for this. Now, close your eyes, and hold out our hands."

"Now that just sounds dirty."

Rhonda just looked at her for a moment, before smirking.

"Just do it."

Helga did so, and within seconds, she felt two slips of paper being slapped into her waiting hands

"Ok, you can open them now."

Helga's eyes snapped open, and her jaw practically fell off.

Lying in her palms, were two plane tickets to Paris, France.

Helga was at a loss for words. How did…how were the girls able to even afford this?

"It's ok, ladies, give her some time."

"This…what….how….huh?"

On the "huh," Helga's face shot up to look at her friends and sister, all were smiling.

"Ever since you were a little girl Helga, you always talked about you wanted to go to Paris one day. Well, your friends and I wanted you to be able to have that chance, and we wanted you and Arnold to share it together."

"Hotel expenses have also been paid for, by the way. Food, souvenirs, you're on your own."

Helga suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes. Within seconds, her friends and sister engulfed her in a hug.

After a while, the girls said goodbye to Helga, and left, but not before helping Helga clean everything up.

The plane tickets sat on the kitchen counter.

Just then, the door opened, and Arnold walked in.

"Hey, how was work?"

Arnold took off his coat, hung it up, and made his way over to the fridge to grab a beer.

"It was good. Sorry I'm back so late. A new intern broke off a piece of a stone with hieroglyphics on it, and then tried to fix it with super glue."

"Oh shit, what happened?"

Arnold walked over to her.

"Well, the stone is completely ruined, and fixing it would destroy it even more. Needless to say, the intern was fired on the spot."

"Wow. Sucks to be them."

"Anyway, I've been thinking about something. About our honeymoon after the wedding."

Helga smirked.

"Really now?"

Arnold nodded, and took a sip of beer.

"Yeah, uhm…I was thinking. Hawaii is really nice that time of year, and I know how much you like the beach. Now, don't worry, I didn't book anything yet, but I think that…"

Helga held up her hand.

"Oh, don't you worry your weird shaped head. Our honey moon has been taken care of."

Arnold raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm…what?"

Helga walked over to the counter, and took the tickets off the counter, shoving them in his face.

"Because we're going to Paris!"

Once again, very sorry this took so long to post. Writing about bridal showers is hard, if you've never been to one.

Ok, I have been to one. But it was so boring I don't even remember what happened.

Notes: (1) and (2) Actual bridal shower games.


	30. Chapter 29: Choosing the Menu

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i:

Thank you for the review.

Really? Which fanfic?

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thank you for reviewing.

Well, Arnold is a human being with basic…uhm….needs.

Actually, if I'm correct, a man is at his sexual peak when he is in his early to mid 20s. A woman reaches her peak when she's in her 30s. I could be wrong.

But, if I'm not: lol, poor Helga.

"So, when is the caterer going to be here again?" Arnold asked, as he was dragging a razor across his shaving cream covered face.

"Like….half an hour, or something." Helga responded.

Today a caterer was coming over to Arnold and Helga's home to show case some samples for possible dishes for their wedding. Before this, Helga has called the company, Red Road Catering (1), and she and Arnold had selected the following dishes: chicken, pasta and salmon. The company had sent over one of their people with samples of their own creations from Helga and Arnold's own choosing.

And within half an hour, the door bell rang and Helga went to answer it.

Standing there was a brown haired man wearing a uniform, and he appeared to be in this thirties. He was carrying a rather large box that Helga could only assume was the samples.

"Hello there, my name is Anthony, and I am here from Red Road Catering."

"Hey, nice to meet you, come in."

Anthony walked inside, and began observing the house. For two couples about to get married, it was a good size for them.

"So, where would you like me to put this?"

Helga began looking around for a place where Anthony could put the box.

"Oh, uhm…here, just uhm….dining room table. "

Anthony set the box on the table, and lifted the lid.

Inside were covered plastic plates of various foods. Anthony began bringing them out, and setting them on the table.

"So, the company has prepared several dishes, that from your description of what you and your fiancé really like, we think you both will really like. The first dish is a chicken that has been lightly glazed in a lemon garlic sauce, with grilled asparagus on the side, so why don't you go ahead and try that."

"Hold on a sec….HEY, FOOTBALL HEAD! CATERER PERSON IS HERE!"

Anthony immediately wore a look of deep confusion on his fair features. Football head?

Within seconds, Arnold appeared, and shook Anthony's hand, introducing himself.

'Wow. Football head is right. Something tells me these two go waaaay back.' Anthony thought as he took Arnold's hand.

"So, Anthony here has a few dishes that he wants us to try."

They both grabbed a fork, and dug into the chicken dish.

Upon first bite, the answer to the first dish was a no.

It wasn't that the dish wasn't good. The chicken was very juicy and the asparagus had a nice tangy taste to it. However, the taste of the chicken was over powered with lemon. In fact, if they had been blind folded and took a bite of the chicken, and then a slice of lemon, Helga and Arnold probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

They tried the second dish, another chicken dish that had been smeared with a garlic pesto sauce. For a side, gold Yukon potatoes cut with chives.

The second dish got a vote of yes from both the bride and groom to be, and they decided that that was going to be dish number one for their wedding.

"So, it's the garlic pesto chicken, correct?"

Arnold and Helga nodded.

Anthony took out a notepad and pen from his pocket, and wrote the name of the dish down.

Within a little over an hour, Helga and Arnold had their dishes picked out: garlic pesto chicken with Yukon potatoes, smoked salmon in a lemon dill sauce with capers and buttered asparagus, and bow tie pasta in a white wine cream sauce with sun dried tomatoes and arugula, served with a side of rice pilaf.

The soon to be-newlyweds thanks Anthony for his time, and reminded him when and where the food needed to be delivered too.

After he left, Helga flopped back onto the couch.

Arnold sat down next to her.

After a while, he spoke.

"So…Paris."

"Yep. Paris." Helga smiled.

"You and me."

Helga rolled her eyes.

"Well, that would be rude of us! No, we should invite our parents as well. Yes, you and me, football head."

Arnold merely threw his head back in laughter. He enjoyed both families, his and Helga's.

But parents with them on their honeymoon? No thanks!

Notes:

(1): Made up Catering Company.

Two things:

I am very sorry that this chapter was short, and that it may have…kind of…sucked a bit. It's just that I have been hit with writers block. I'll try to overcome it though and do my best to pump out (decent-good) chapters, otherwise, this story won't get finished.

Expect a PM coming your way, my lovely reviewers!


	31. Chapter 30: Shocking News!

Hey everyone! I'm baaack, and hopefully (if not completely) over my writers block.

So, this story is about to come to an end, but not for a few more chapters.

Once again, I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so SOOOOOOO sorry that this took so long. Two chapters have been posted, and I'm already making notes for the last few. I can't say when the other chapters will be uploaded, but I can promise that I will try to make sure that it doesn't take as long as these two did.

Chapter Thirty: Shocking News!

"Ow! Damnit, Rhonda, if you keep getting me with that stupid curling iron, I'm not going to have any skin left!"

"Well, maybe if you'd stop moving!"

"It's not the moving that's the problem.

"If you're implying what I think you're implying, I will totally clip you for real."

"Ladies, please."

It was two days before the wedding, and Helga and her bridal party were all getting ready for Helga's bachelorette party. Rhonda had booked the VIP room at Club Euphoria, a new night club that had opened up just a month ago. At first, she was refused due to overbooking, but when Rhonda pulled the "do you have any idea who I am?" and "my father can shut you down faster than you can say…." plan, along with the promise of a large sum of money, she managed to snag the VIP room.

The group who previously had it just couldn't fathom why the room they had reserved was no longer available to them.

Helga sat at the vanity, make up already done, and dressed in a light pink strapless bandage dress that was way too short for her standards. However, Rhonda wouldn't let her leave the store, unless she was up at the cash register, dress in hand. So, after much arguing, Helga still wouldn't buy it. But, when Rhonda bought the dress right in front of her, Helga pretty much didn't have a choice.

Oh well, at least Rhonda let her have a say in the shoes, as long as they were heels, of course. So, in the end, Helga still didn't have much of a choice.

Despite not wanting to wear such a short dress and heels, Helga at least got to let everyone at the club now that she was a bride to be. She would wear her veil, along with a white sash that read, in light pink writing, BRIDE. Free drinks all around was for damn sure!

And if Helga got drunk tonight, who cares? It wasn't like the wedding was tomorrow.

She knew Arnold was already at his bachelor party, at a strip club, no less, courtesy of Stinky, Sid and Gerald. At first, the foot ball head shaped lug felt unsure about being around strippers. Not because of what he would do, but how Helga would feel. Both Helga and Arnold knew they could trust each other, but he wasn't sure that she would take kindly to naked women giving him lap dances.

To his utter surprise, she was completely cool with it. She knew girls back in college who pulled the whole "my man is not allowed a bachelor party, but I sure as hell can have a party," and quite frankly, she thought it was ridiculous. Just an example of some insecure women looking to control their boyfriends as a mean of managing some insecurity. As long as the guy didn't try to touch the strippers, or have drunk sex with another girl, then who the hell cared?

No, instead, she told Arnold to out and "have the time of his life."

"Don't worry, almost done." Rhonda said.

She took a bobby pin and secured Helga's recently straightened bangs behind her ear. Next, she attacked Helga's mane with a large can of hair spray.

"There, finished."

She held up a hand held mirror so Helga could see herself. Her long blonde hair had been loosely curled and pulled up into a high pony tail, with her bangs swept off to the side. On her head sat a tiara with a white veil attached to it. It was a cheap temporary replacement, perfect for clubs. The real one was sitting with her gown.

Helga wasn't surprised at the result, though. Rhonda had a talent for this kind of thing. However, she couldn't help but marvel at how…Helga it looked. It was simple, yet elegant. Fancy but without going over the top.

She had to see if Rhonda would do something similar to her hair for the wedding. The girl did appoint herself in charge of anything makeup and hair, after all.

"So, we ready to go?" Big Patty asked, standing up from the bed.

"No! Wait! Wait! I need to get a picture of this!" Olga exclaimed, as she reached into her purse and brought out her cell phone, and one of those selfie-sticks.

She pushed the girls into a group, and held up the phone way above her head.

"Say, Helga and Arnold!"

Everyone shouted "Helga and Arnold," and the first photo of the night was taken.

After several more pictures, they were on their way.

Olga was the designated driver. She had borrowed her boyfriends SUV for the night. She and Helga had a bit of a sisterly argument. Helga had said that she was ok to drive on the way to the club, but Olga could drive back if she wanted.

But, Olga was persistent, as usual. She knew her sister all too well, and she knew just how this night would end. It was almost laughable to assume that no one would be intoxicated tonight. In fact, all of the girls (save for her) were already a bit tipsy.

No bride to be wants to spend the night in the drunk tank.

When they got to the club, Rhonda walked up to the security guard, who immediately asked all of them for their IDs.

Rhonda ever so slyly smirked at him, and folded her arms.

"You don't need to check for anything. Look under Wellington-Lloyd."

The security guard's eyes widened to the size of saucers when he heard the last name. He opened up the belt, and ushered the girls politely inside.

"Have a wonderful night, Ms. Lloyd."

"I thought so."

Helga and Sheena looked at each other, but nonetheless shrugged. Just how much influence did Rhonda's family have, anyway?

The inside of the club was blasting with music and multi-colored laser lights. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and people were all over the marble floors, walking to and from the bar, or grinding against each other. The music blasted with such intensity, Helga could feel the beat vibrating throughout her body.

"This way to the VIP room!"

Everyone followed her up a flight of stairs to a large set of red curtains. Rhonda pulled them back and…

Everyone was dumbstruck. The VIP room's walls were a cherry red with intricate lace like designs delicately painted on. The carpet was also a plush cherry red, and there were black cushions. In the center of it all was a table that held six bottles of Crystal Black Rosé (1), a very expensive line of champagne, along with a set of champagne flutes.

Helga's face lit up, and she threw her arms around her bridal party.

Girls, tonight is going one awesome bachelorette party. Now, let's get this thing started!"

There was a chorus of cheers as the young women clinked their glasses together.

Helga sat back against the couch, now on her third glass of champagne. Rhonda and Phoebe had gone off on the dance floor, no doubt Rhonda had gone to scout out a possible one night only partner. Helga knew it wasn't in Rhonda's interest to just sleep with some random person.

She felt the cushion move next to her, and looked up to see her sister.

"Enjoying yourself, bride to be?" Olga laughed, as she poured herself another glass. One more drink, and she would cut herself off. She was the DD, after all.

"You know it, sis. Just thinking about how in just a few days, I'm going to be Arnold's wife. I'll be Mrs. Arnold Shortman."

"It's exciting, isn't it?"

Helga nodded. It was very exciting, but also, very weird. It almost seemed like yesterday that she was aiming spit balls at the back of Arnold's head.

"Anyway, how are you and Carter doing?" Helga asked, adjusting the strap on her heels.

"Oh….it's….going good. Great, actually. He and I are planning to take a vacation after your wedding."

In all honesty, things between Olga and Carter were good, for the most part. Olga Pataki truly was happy for and proud of her little sister, for coming such a long way. She had been successful, not by doing everything the Pataki way, but by her own way. She grew into a beautiful young woman, by her standards, and her standards alone. And although he didn't show it as much, Olga knew that their father was just as proud of Helga as well.

But there was just one thing. Just one thing that really began to gnaw at Olga's insides. She was truly happy for her sister. She really was. She would never admit it, not even once, but a part of her felt jealous of her sister. She and Carter had been dating just as long as Helga and Arnold, if not longer, and still there was no talk of a proposal. At 32 years old, Olga thought she would be married with children by now. In fact, half of her friends were married and had kids of their own. It certainly wasn't easy watching someone younger than you getting married before you, nor was it easy watching those close to you reach such milestones in their lives, while you stood by and watched. But, Carter just wasn't ready to take that next step.

In all honesty, sometimes Olga wondered if he ever would be ready. She loved him, she really did, but wasn't sure how much longer she was willing to wait.

She shook her head, not wanting to think about it. This was Helga's night to shine, and she (Olga) would be damned if she stole the spotlight.

Suddenly, Rhonda's voice called out to them, her head peeking through the curtain.

"Hey, girls! Less chatting, more dancing! Olga, Helga, get out here, already!"

Olga and Helga looked at each other and shrugged, but nonetheless got up, and followed Rhonda.

It didn't take very long for both Rhonda and Helga to consume shot after shot.

The party lasted only a few hours, before Helga decided to call it a night, and go on home. Trying to keep her balance, because being intoxicated while wearing heels was a recipe for disaster, she and her group walked out of the club.

Rhonda wasn't so lucky. The raven haired woman had gotten so wasted, she had to be half carried and half dragged by Sheena and Nadine.

Helga looked at her dark-haired friend and shook her head as the girl nearly tripped and fell.

"Wow, Rhonda, walk much?" she asked laughing.

"Oh…shush….hic…up….hic."

Helga leaned against s stone wall, pink high heeled clad feet crossed over one another, a cigarette dangling from her mouth. Rhonda was busy giving a drunk fashion show by sharing her newest idea for a gown with Nadine and Sheena, and Big Patty was texting someone on her phone. Her older sister Olga, was fishing through her purse for her car keys.  
As Helga took a drag from her cigarette, thoughts began to consume her. Tonight was one of the last nights that she and Arnold would be more than just fiancés. In three days time, they would declare each other as husband and wife. It was a dream that had finally become a reality.  
Helga smiled to herself, thinking about how blessed she was, to have a man like Arnold. Most girls dreamt of having a partner like him. She however did not have to dream it. She got to live it. And she would continue to live and love that reality until the very end.  
Suddenly, as she was about to put out her cigarette, her phone went off. Opening up the mini designer clutch Rhonda had given her, Helga fished out her phone. When she saw the number, a look of confusion graced her face.  
"Hello?" She asked, curious as to why she was getting a call from Hillwood General Hospital.  
"Hello, may I speak to a Ms. Helga Pataki? The voice on the other line asked.  
"I'm Helga Pataki." Helga answered, seriously wondering why the hospital was contacting her.  
"Ma'am," the voice on the other line said, "A man by the name of Arnold Shortman was brought in ten minutes ago with injuries due to a car accident. It says in his papers containing his information that you are his primary emergency contact. "  
And Helga's stomach dropped. The person on the other line didn't need to say anything more, for Helga urgently replied that she would be there as quickly as she could.  
She hung up the call, and with teary, devastated eyed, turned to her sister.  
"Olga, we need to get to Hillwood General Hospital, NOW! Arnold's been in a fucking car accident!"

So, yes. Arnold was in a car accident.

It's not that you guys didn't give me good ideas from when I sent you that message, like, years ago asking what could happen, but for some reason, I kept coming back to the original idea. I decided to give it a shot, to see what I could do with it, and hopefully I do a good job. Don't worry though, I plan to be very careful.

Notes: 1- A made up champagne.


	32. Chapter 31: Vulnerable

Chapter 31: Vulnerable

Helga, Olga, and Phoebe rushed through the hospital doors, Helga's bare feet smacking the tiles, her shoes grasped tightly in her hand.

She and Olga had ordered a Taxi for the other bridesmaids, which Olga had so kindly paid for (at that point, Rhonda couldn't tell the difference between right and left, but seemed to have gotten falling over backwards down pretty well) Not wanting Arnold to be surrounded by too many people, Helga only allowed Phoebe, her closest friend to go with her and her sister. Understanding Helga's reasons, as well as realizing that Rhonda needed to be taken care of, Big Patty, Sheen and Nadine all headed off to Rhonda's place.

Helga's body nearly slammed into the front desk, the receptionist, a woman in her forties, looked at the younger blonde with wide and surprised eyes.

"My name….is….Helga…Pataki. I got…a call from Hillwood Hospital, someone told me that my fiancé, Arnold Shortman, was taken in because of a car accident." She panted.

The woman nodded, and began typing something on her computer.

Then, she looked up at Helga.

"Dr. Moss is attending to your fiancé right now, along with two of our surgeons. Please have a seat, and he will update you on his condition when he is finished."

Helga frowned.

"Are you kidding me, right now? My fiancé is in the hospital due to a fucking car accident, I want to know what's going on now!"

The receptionist shook her head.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am, but hospital policies dictate family members wait in the waiting room."

"But…."

Olga put her arms around her sister.

"Helga, she's right. Look, I know this is hard for you, and I can't imagine what you must be feeling, but we need to stay out of the way so the doctors can give Arnold the best care possible."

Helga opened her mouth to protest some more, but snapped it shut, knowing her sister was right.

"Ok….fine…it's…fine. Can you at least tell me how serious his condition is?"

Once again, the receptionist shook her head.

"You will have to wait for Dr. Moss."

Olga and Phoebe walked over to a chair in the waiting room, and sat the distraught bride to be down.

As Helga placed her head in her hands, drastic thoughts poured throughout her head.

How did the accident happen? Who was driving the car? Was alcohol involved? How bad was Arnold hurt? Why was nobody telling her anything?

"I'm his fiancé," she seethed as Phoebe rubbed her back, "I have a goddamn right to know what the fuck happened."

"We just have to be patient, Helga."

In truth, she was sad to see her best friend in such a state. Phoebe couldn't even begin to imagine what Helga was going through.

But, she also had to side with the receptionist. Yes, Helga was Arnold's fiancé. Yes, she did have a right to know of his condition. Yes, she had every right to be upset and angry and sad and frustrated, and all those other emotions that came with what Helga was feeling. However, she also knew that everyone had to stay out of the way and let the doctors do their job. If Arnold was in critical condition, the best thing for him was for everyone to mind their own business, until they got some news.

Helga pulled out her phone from her purse.

"I…I need to call Arnold's parents. They need to be here…"

She dialed his mother's cell phone.

Stella's voice rang a polite 'hello' on the other line.

Helga took a deep, shaky breath.

"Hi, Stella, it's Helga. Look you and….no, I am not ok, please just listen…you and Miles need to get to Hillwood General Hospital right now, Arnold's been in a car accident. No, Stella, I don't know what happened, nobody will fucking tell me anything, just get here!"

She hung up the call.

Within moments, Miles and Stella were seen flying through the doors.

Stella instantly put her arms around her soon-to-be daughter in law.

"Any news?" Miles asked, also desperate to learn of his only son's condition.

Helga shook her head.

"We were told by the receptionist to wait until Dr. Moss comes out and speaks to everyone. We've been waiting for half an hour, so far." Olga responded.

Stella took a seat next to Helga.

After what seemed like hours, a man in a white coat approached the group.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Moss. Our receptionist informed me that one of you is the fiancé of a Mr. Arnold Shortman."

"I am. I'm his…I'm his fiancé."

Dr. Moss nodded in understanding.

"And, I assume you are Arnold's family?"

They all nodded, Phoebe going onto explain that she and Olga were friend and almost sister in law to the groom, respectively, and that Miles and Stella were Arnold's parents."

"I would like to speak to Ms. Pataki and the patients parents, alone, if I may. They can let you know what Mr. Shortman's condition is after I have informed them.

Phoebe and Olga looked at each other, then at Helga, who reassured them that she would be fine, and would let them know as soon as she found out.

The two girls walked away, leaving Dr. Moss to deal with Helga and Arnold's parents.

Your son, and fiancé, was brought in due to suffering injuries from a car accident. He was brought in by some friends of his, who, although they didn't seem to be injured too greatly, will be kept overnight for observation."

"Wonderful. Fucking awesome. How is Arnold? What the hell happened?"

"From what we understand from the police report, Ms. Pataki, the car your fiancé was in was t-boned by another driver who was texting. The other driver had ran red light, and by the time they realized it, it was too late."

Helga and Arnold's parents felt their hearts drop to their feet. They were all aware of the dangers of texting and driving, having heard of victims, young and old, being killed in accidents caused by such careless activities.

Then, Stella spoke up.

"Dr, please, I…I need to know. Is my baby going to be ok?"

Dr. Moss gave no physical response. No nod, no shake, no shrug. It was an action that greatly worried Stella.

"His injuries were great enough for him to be admitted into surgery. I'm sorry, but we won't know anything until the surgery is completed."

"How long is that going to take, though?"

"Right now, ma'am, the surgeons are doing everything they can. The surgeon in charge of the operation will come out and inform you when everything is finished. As far how long that will take, I cannot give you a guaranteed answer."

Helga and Arnold's parents thanked Dr. Moss, who walked away when he was paged to go handle another patient in room 23.

Olga and Phoebe rushed over to her

"Well, what did Dr. Moss say?"

Helga wiped her eyes, wanting nothing more than to collapse and break down.

"He said….he said that Arnold was in a car accident, because some stupid fucking asshole decided that his fucking text just couldn't wait."

Olga moved to console her sister.

"Helga…"

"No, this is bullshit!" Helga cried out, pulling away from her sister's comforting arms.

"Why? I want to know why! Why did this happen? What…what gave….that….that….what gave the one who caused Arnold this much suffering the right to…the right to…"

Olga put a hand on her sisters shoulder.

"Helga, sweetie, I know you are angry, and you have every right to be angry, but you must try and calm down…"

"I can't _FUCKING_ calm down, Olga. Arnold…Arnold was in a goddamn car accident, and no one will fucking tell me what the fuck is going on. No one is keeping me updated, other than that damned doctor who didn't know shit. I don't know if Arnold will…"

By now, Helga was openly sobbing. Olga had to think fast, had to take her sister somewhere where she could be consoled, and hopefully get her to calm down before she completely lost it.

"Come on Helga, come on. Let's go outside. It isn't good for you to be here right now. You need to…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Olga!"

"Helga—Helga, stop, listen to me. Right now, there is nothing we can do for Arnold. Let's go outside, you can have a few cigarettes if you would like, but your sake, you need to calm down."

Helga knew she wasn't going to win this argument. She hung her head in exhausted defeat, her voice hoarse from screaming so loudly, and she allowed Olga to gently pull her outside. Phoebe followed them.

When they reached the outside area, Olga took her sister to a smoking section (1), where she sat Helga down on the bench.

Helga reached into her clutch, hastily pulled out her pack of cigarettes, and with shaky hands, put one to her lips and lit it.

As Helga continued to sob, Olga gazed at her sister, her heart ripping in two for the poor girl.

Helga had been through so much. She had fought through so much, and although Olga knew how strong her younger sister was, she also knew that if something, anything, happened to Arnold, she wasn't sure if Helga would get over it.

She then had an idea. It was a long stretch, but she hoped to everything she had ever known that it would work. She pulled out her phone, and began texting a number:

_It's me. Something terrible has happened. Helga needs you. Please come right away to Hillwood General Hospital._

Will Arnold be ok? Who did Olga text? Ah, fuck it. You already know!

I hope I haven't destroyed this story or anything. First time writing something like this, so let's see how I do.

Notes: 1- So, I know that in most hospitals, you can't some on the grounds, but this one has a smoking section.


	33. Chapter 32: The Push and Pull

Chapter 32: The Push and Pull

Miriam strained the pasta from the pot of boiling water, in the sink, simultaneously wrenching open the window above sink to let the steam out. Every Sunday night was pasta night in her little apartment.

She then went to the stove to finis stirring the tomato sauce.

In truth, she wasn't very hungry. She didn't know why she made enough pasta to feed four people.

Maybe it was because she was alluding to her life, her former life, as a married woman. She was used to cooking for more than just herself.

She had never truly gotten over the divorce. Oh, she had moved on, the divorce forced her to accept that she was no longer married, no longer a wife.

It was the little things that stuck with her, though. For example, whenever she would turn over in her bed, her arm would reach out to engulf her (now ex) husband in a warm and inviting hug, only to have her hand slam down onto cold sheets, the right side of the bed empty. When she would venture out from her bedroom, she would half except to see Bob sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, all the while calling out to her to make his coffee, because how else could he, "run a beeper emporium without my damn coffee?"

Instead, she would wake up to an empty table. No Bob, no Helga, no Olga. Nobody. It was just her. Alone. In this little apartment.

At the same time, there were some benefits to the divorce, benefits that she had to admit, despite being the one who fought against it when she and Bob were on the stand. There were no more fights, no more feeling trapped, and no more feeling helpless.

But, there was also loneliness. It was a real predicament she was in. She loved Bob, she loved her children, but in her marriage, she felt nothing but loneliness. It was part of the reason she left in the first place, the desire to find companionship, not necessarily romantically, but companionship nonetheless, among other reasons, was what pushed her to leave. Some famous person once said that it's far worse to live with someone who makes you feel alone, than to be alone.

That level of loneliness never left entirely. She felt alone in her marriage, and she felt alone, even now.

It just all could have been avoided if she had only…

No, she wasn't going to go down that road, wouldn't open the door to those thoughts any more. What was done was done. Besides, what good would it do her now to think about what she should have done, or could have done?

There was one time, a few weeks after the divorce, when she was at her absolute worse, the pain and devastation of losing her family encasing her. She had gotten so drunk, that she stumbled all the way to the Pataki home, and stood there. She was well out of sight, hiding behind a tree from across the street, but she just…stood there, watching the silhouette of her husband in what used to be their-now his-bedroom, the sounds from The Wheel blaring from the open window. It had been over an hour before her own mother figured out where she was and came to pick her up.

It was around that time that her own parents seriously considered checking their daughter into rehab. But, being an adult, they couldn't force her to do anything.

She did eventually check herself in, though.

Miriam was about to open the fridge to fetch herself some tomato juice (it had been a nice substitute for bloody mary's, no alcohol added, obviously), when her cell phone let out a long loud BEEEEEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!

She frowned, wondering who might that be, as she walked over to the coffee table, pulling the phone from the charger.

An envelope appeared on the main screen, indicating that she had a text message.

She clicked on it, to see it was from Olga.

When she saw the contents of the text message, her eyes widened in surprise.

_It's me. Something terrible has happened. Helga needs you. Please come right away to Hillwood General Hospital._

Miriam stood there, no knowing what to do.


	34. Chapter 33: Unexpected

Chapter 33: Unexpected

Olga sat beside her sister in the waiting area of the hospital. Helga, after half a pack of cigarettes, had finally managed to calm down. She was no longer crying, it was true, she had cried herself into exhaustion, but she wasn't sleeping, either.

Olga looked at her sister, and began wondering if what she did was the right thing. Although Miriam and Helga had just got back into contact, Helga agreed to see Miriam every now and then, but she was very reluctant about it.

She wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries. Maybe asking for their mother to come here wasn't the best idea.

But, Olga wasn't thinking about that at the time. She had honestly thought it might have been helpful for Helga, she honestly had good intentions.

She just hoped hers didn't pave the way to hell.

She couldn't take it back now. She couldn't just send a text saying, "Oh, just kidding."

If Miriam did appear, she just hoped everything would be ok.

"Helga, Olga!"

Both girls looked up to see their mother rushing towards them, a look of shock on their faces (Olga had to hide her smile).

"Mother…"

"Miriam…what….what are you doing here?"

Miriam struggled to find the words, as she gazed at Olga's urgent face.

No, Helga didn't have to know that Olga told her to come here.

Not…not yet, anyway.

"I just…I felt like something happened, that you needed me Helga." Miriam said.

There, the mother's intuition thing.

Hopefully, Helga bought it. But her daughter was smart, and Miriam knew eventually she'd come to the truth.

Then again, when she saw her daughter's red eyes, dark circles and messy blonde hair, she knew that whatever she had with Helga was right now the last thing on her youngest daughter's mind.

"What….what happened, Helga? You can tell me. I promise I won't smother you or…or anything like that. But, if you don't want to tell me, if you…if you want me to leave then I can…"

Helga shook her head.

"It's…it's fine."

She just didn't have the energy to question or argue anything or with anyone right now. Arnold was her top priority. Right now, her resentment towards her mother seemed petty compared to what she was feeling now.

That, or it just wasn't the time to bring any of that up

Miriam smiled at her daughter, hoping such a small gesture conveyed her greatness, and that she really _truly _did want to be there for Helga.

"Helga, why don't you tell me what happened? Why are you in the hospital?"

Her eyes widened, and began jumping to conclusions.

"Oh…oh god, you're not here for yourself, are you? Well then, why are you sitting, why isn't a doctor looking you over? Excuse me? Could someone please help my…"

"Miriam, no, I'm not here for me."

Miriam blinked.

"Then…why are you here, Helga?"

Helga took a deep breath.

"It's….it's Arnold. Arnold is here."

Miriam took a seat next to her daughter.

"He was out partying with his friends, and on the way back home, a driver ran a red light and t-boned the car. The police report said that the driver had been texting at the time, and by the time they realized what they had done, it was too late."

Miriam's eyes widened.

"They…they caught the driver, he had to be brought into surgery as well, but the police told me that they were planning to charge him with reckless driving, as well as get him several other violations. Arnold is in surgery right now."

Miriam moved to hug her daughter, but thought the best of it. Helga may have had no problems with her mother just showing up, but hugging still wouldn't have been welcome.

Helga didn't need any old memories resurfacing, right now.

"Oh, Helga, I'm…"

"I know."

Miriam smiled sadly at her daughter.

"Well, at least…at least the man who did this is going to have to suffer the consequences of his actions." She hoped this was some sort of comfort, that the man who caused such misery would be paying for it, literally and figuratively.

Helga nodded, but that was the least of her worries. All she cared about, was that Arnold was going to be ok.

She honestly didn't give two shits about the driver who caused it. She hated herself for thinking it, but if he died during surgery, she honestly felt as if he deserved it.

But then again….did his family deserve the devastating loss of a child, just because their son did something stupid, selfish and reckless?

At the very least, he should be charged and heavily, very heavily fined.

"That's a uhm…that's a nice dress you've got on Helga. Where did you get it?" Miriam wanted to steer her daughter's mind in another direction, try to get her mind off of the subject of Arnold.

"I got it when I was out shopping with Rhonda." Helga said nonchalantly.

"Oh. It…it looks nice on you. You look very…grown up."

"Uhm….thanks but I really don't care about how I look right now."

Miriam's eyes winded, and Helga sighed.

"Sorry, it's just that my dress or how I look is not my priority right now. In case you forgot, Miriam, my fi…boyfriend is in surgery because the car he was in was t-boned."

Miriam blinked. Was Helga about to say fiancé?

She was about to bring it up, but from the look on her daughter's face, the tone of her voice, Miriam knew better than to bombard her daughter with questions. What do you mean you're getting married and why wasn't I invited were questions that were rude and insensitive during this time.

And besides, this was supposed to be about Arnold recovering, not about Miriam's feelings.

If she wanted to bring it up, she would do it later.

Then again, she might also do what she believed was the decent thing, and keep quiet about it.

Yes, that's what she would do. Asking Helga would only be seen as Miriam bombarding her life. She had promised her daughter she wouldn't bother with anything or question anything.

No, she would let Helga bring it up.

Suddenly, they all heard a deep voice.

"Helga!"

They looked up to see Helga's father running towards them.


	35. Chapter 34: Together Again

Chapter 34: Together Again.

Miriam's eyed widened in shock, at the sight of her ex husband. The man who had demanded a divorce from her all those years ago. The man who had so violently, so forcefully, kicked her out of her marital home.

Robert Pataki.

In fact, he was just as shocked to see her as well.

Ex husband and wife stood there, not knowing what to do. It had been five years, five years and they had never talked to or seen each other since the divorce had been finalized.

Big Bob had gotten text from Helga, in which she told him what happened. The boorish man had left his beeper emporium, putting one of his assistants in charge to take care of the mountains of orders and other paperwork.

Olga looked at her parents warily, hoping that things would go smoothly between them. The divorce had been a very messy one. It didn't have to be, but it was.

And besides, she wasn't stupid. She knew that there was resentment between her parents. Being the proud Pataki man he was, Big Bob never would admit it. No, he would say that he had moved past it, swept it under the rug.

But Olga knew better.

Bob was the first one to break the silence.

"Miriam. What…what are you...doing here?"

"What? Oh, well, I just….I uhm….had a feeling that something was wrong."

She lowered her voice, so that only Bob would hear it.

"Olga texted me. She said that something happened, and that I should come to the hospital."

"Oh. Yeah. Of…of course. Uhm…How…how have you been?"

Miriam smiled, but it was a smile and short, fleeting smile.

"I've been good. Got my own apartment"

"Good to…uh….hear it."

It was like they were meeting for the first time. But, things were different. In their first encounter, they were love struck fools. They were young. And willing to throw caution to the wind.

But that was long ago. Now, now it was like two strangers. Five years could do a lot to a person.

"How's the uhm….the beeper thing going? Are you still doing that?" Miriam asked.

Bob nodded, giving a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah I am."

In all honesty, after the divorce, Bob never imagined he would be speaking to Miriam ever again. And why should he? They were divorced, free from their toxic marriage. They were no longer husband and wife. True, there were days, lots of days where he thought of calling her up, thought that maybe they could remain friends. But, the divorce was ugly, messy. He wasn't ready for that. And quite frankly, he didn't think she was ready for it, either.

"I also uhm….I also got help for my alcoholism. I've been sober for quite some time now."

Miriam then stopped. Why on earth did she bring that up? What was she trying to prove? Why would she tell her ex husband something so personal? True, she had told Helga, but that was different.

By the look on his face, Bob was thinking the same thing. Why did Miriam tell him?

He decided to brush it off as nothing.

"Really? That's good to hear. I'm glad to hear of it, Miriam."

He was glad to hear of it. His wife's alcoholism was disabling to her, it was like two cold strong hands wrapped around her mind, refusing to release her.

But, she had beaten it.

Divorced or not, he couldn't say he wasn't impressed, nor that he wasn't proud. Divorced or not, he was still married to the woman once. She was the mother of his children. He fell in love with her. No, they may not have been husband and wife, but that didn't mean he didn't care about her.

"Excuse me, where is Helga Pataki?"

A voice slashed through the silence. They looked over to see Dr. Moss, standing there with his clip board.

Helga stood up.

"I'm here. What's going on? How's Arnold?

Dr. Moss: "I have come to inform you of Mr. Shortman's condition."


	36. Chapter 35: The News

Chapter 35: The News

Helga stood there, waiting for Dr. Moss to give her the latest, and what she had hoped, fortunate and final update on her fiancés surgery.

Time seemed to have stood still, as everyone who had gotten wind of the accident Arnold was in, silently urged the Dr. Moss to get on with it. Nobody wanted to wait any longer.

Then, Dr. Moss smiled.

"I am very pleased to say that Arnold's surgery was a complete success, and no signs of any life threatening injuries were found. He did suffer a broken leg, so he will be in a cast for 6 weeks. We also don't have any crutches at the moment, and are having some made as we speak. For the first three weeks, Arnold will have to be in a wheelchair. Other than that, everything appears to be just fine."

There was a chorus of cheers, and Helga burst into tears. Six weeks would delay their wedding, yes, but she couldn't have cared less. All that mattered to her was that Arnold was alive. Alive, and ok.

Helga felt very blessed in this moment.

Stella also had burst into tears, and threw her arms around her husband.

"Oh, thank god!"

"When can we see Arnold?" Her husband asked, desperate to go in and see his only child.

"Right now Arnold is sleeping. However, he should be awake in about an hour or so, you can visit him then." Dr. Moss responded.

Big Bob went on to announce that this was cause for celebration, and invited everyone out for a drink, after they went to visit Arnold, of course. Miriam had politely declined.

As the happy news poured over everyone, Helga began to think.

When she was nine years old, she had broken her own leg, when Phoebe had shoved her out of the way of an oncoming truck. She had also been confined to a wheelchair for most of the heeling process.

She had discovered that it was very hard to get around in a wheelchair. The blasted thing limited you like no other. She knew she couldn't always be home to help Arnold, as she still had wedding plans to take care of, most of which could not be done from within the house. And Arnold had just gotten a job down at the museum, the same one he interned at. He wouldn't drive with a broken leg, at least not for some time.

Helga began to discuss her worries with Dr. Moss, and asked for any recommendations.

Just then, her mother spoke up.

"Helga, I would be more than happy to help you and Arnold out."

Helga's eyes widened.

"Ex…excuse me?"

Miriam nodded.

"Why not? I can do this, Helga. I've had experience with helping people who have suffered broken bones, I took care of my aunt who had a broken leg when I was 16. I can drive Arnold to work and pick him up."

"Miriam, you really don't have to do any of that, but thank you. I'm sure I can find someone who can help to…"

Miriam cut her off.

"I know I don't have to, Helga. But I….I want to. I want to help."

Helga stared at her mother in shock and disbelief. Where had this come from? Why was the woman who almost never took an interest in Helga's life, suddenly jumping for the first chance she saw?

Helga knew why. All Miriam wanted was to get back into Helga's good graces. All Miriam wanted was to start over with Helga.

Helga hesitated before nodding. Miriam's face lit up.

"But, I'm going to have to put some limits and rules on this, first."

There was no way in hell she would allow her mother to give Arnold sponge baths. No, that was Helga's job.

Eventually, it was settled. Miriam would not move in with Helga and Arnold, as Helga would have readily and willingly protested the idea with a sharp tongue, but she and Miriam would work out the details over coffee in the morning.


	37. Chapter 36: What Helga Wants Is?

Chapter 36: What Helga Wants…?

Six weeks had come and gone, and Arnold's leg was back to normal. Well, normal as it would ever be. He still felt some pain every now and then, but nothing that kept him from walking.

They had to postpone the date of their wedding. Helga had sent out the announcement the day after Arnold had been released from the hospital. On such a short notice, some people had informed her that they could not make it, for they had already made plans for the new date. However, a good size of friends and family would still be there.

She also had to call the venue, and tell the owner of the reasons for the delay. Helga had mentioned that her earlier offer still stood regardless of the date change, and the owner of the large estate had "understood perfectly."

After that, she had to call the bakery, the florist, and the catering company.

Helga had never made so many phone calls in one day, and when she was done, a large glass of wine was more than welcome. If she could have, if it were possible, she would have married the glass along with Arnold. After all, wine was a girl's best friend, right up there with diamonds.

It was around 10 PM in the household of Arnold and Helga. Arnold, who had just gotten off a long day at work, and had recently began driving again (much to the surprise of the doctors, who had recommended he not drive for an additional two weeks), was up stairs sleeping, leaving Helga alone on the couch, watching Say Yes to the Dress.

"Ugh, no! Not that one! Ugh, you look like a fucking cream puff!" Helga hissed at the screen at a particularly pretty red head came out of the dressing room to model off a wedding dress that looked more like a huge tub of pudding than an actual dress.

Helga wasn't really watching the show, as she didn't have any interest in things like this, even with her own wedding coming up. Truth be told, there was nothing else on, except for news and soap operas.

As Helga sat on the couch watching the show, her mind fluttered elsewhere.

Miriam had been an enormous help during the last six weeks.

Helga has set ground rules for this. She would be the one to help Arnold to the bathroom, help him dress, and help him shower (she had ordered a bench put in), but Miriam did all the rest. Never was she late to pick him for work at 6 in the morning. Never did she let them down when she offered to grow grocery shopping so they could have a decent and homemade meal.

All of the things Helga wanted Miriam to be, responsible and reliable, what the woman couldn't do when she was married to Bob Pataki, she could do in just a mere six weeks.

In truth, Helga was both angry and impressed. She knew, down deep inside, her mother had always had it in her. But why, why, WHY, couldn't she have been the person that she was now all those years ago?

Once upon a time, Helga both ignored and resented her mother. Resented her for not trying. Resented her for not caring. Resented the fact that most of her friends had mothers who took a keen interest in the lives of their children, when all she got for a mother was Miriam. Eventually, the resentment melted, and born for the first time was hatred.

Could Helga really continue the cycle of hatred? Could she really cut Miriam out of her life, once and for all?

If she had, then she knew Miriam would never bother her again. If she had, she would go on pretending that Miriam either no longer existed, or died. She could finally move on with her life, with her soon-to-be husband. It was something she has always wanted more than anything.

If she hadn't, she would be opening herself up to more disappointment. If she hadn't, she would be kicking herself, for refusing to know what could have been.

Helga gulped down the last sip of wine. Come morning, she knew what she had to do.

She finally knew what she wanted.


	38. Chapter 37: Mother and Daughter

Chapter 37: Mother and Daughter

Miriam was in the middle of her morning coffee when she heard the doorbell ring.

Frowning, she began to wonder just who could be at her door at 10 in the morning, but nevertheless, went to answer the door.

When she opened it, her jaw dropped.

"Hel…Helga? What….what are you doing here?"

The younger blonde stared intensely at her mother.

"Miriam…uhm….hi. I need to…I need to talk to you about something. Can I come in?"

Miriam stared right back at her daughter, bewildered at the sight in front of her. Helga never just randomly dropped by like this. Whenever she wanted to come over, which had been a few times since agreed to begin to try and reconcile, it was usually to drop something off, pick something up, or stop by for a quick chat, but she had always called her mother beforehand. This was totally out of the ordinary.

She shook her head, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Uhm…yes. Yes, of…of course! Come on in!"

Helga stepped inside, and Miriam shut the door behind her.

"Do you want anything to drink Helga? I just made a pot of coffee."

Helga nodded.

"Water with ice would be fine, and…thank you."

Miriam went to the fridge to prepare her daughter's glass of water.

A moment later, she came back to the living room, and handed the glass to Helga, who took a long and hard gulp.

"So, uh…ah….what brings you here, Helga? Not…not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just that, I'm very surprised."

Helga snorted.

"Then that makes two of us," she smirked, "I never thought I'd be here…doing this, either, but I wanted to tell you something."

Miriam sat down on the couch, and Helga copied her estranged mother.

Then, the young blonde took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say.

"I'm…I'm only going to say this once, so, listen good. I'm the type of person, where, even though someone may be driving me up the freaking wall, even when I've held so much resentment towards someone, I still give credit where credit is due."

Miriam's eyes widened. Just where was Helga going with this?

Helga cleared her throat before continuing.

"I give credit where credit is due, Miriam. And….well…what you did for Arnold…for me…for us…well, it was…I…just wanted to thank you. ""

"…Helga?"

Helga held up her hand, silencing her mother. The unspoken message was, "shut up, this isn't easy for me. After everything that's happened, the least you could do is listen."

Helga continued with her speech.

"I just wanted to thank you, for everything that you've done during these past six weeks. I know I'm probably bad at showing it right now, but trust me when I say that it meant a lot to us, me and Arnold, but especially me. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is…what I want to say is…I've come to tell you that your trial has ended. I'm finally willing to give you a second chance."

Miriam's jaw dropped when she saw her daughter at her door step, but this time, she was sure it hit the floor. A physical force seemed to hit her like a thousand bricks, but strangely enough, the feeling was not unwelcome.

"You wanted to be there for me, and you proved that you could be. What's more, you respected my boundaries. I can't say we'll exactly have a normal relationship, nor can I say there won't be some tension between everyone involved, but I am willing to try and work on it, and move past it, just like you."

Tears welled up in Miriam's eyes. She could scarcely believe the words Helga was saying. A part of her thought desperately, "please, please GOD, let this be real," but the other part of her was claiming that it was only a dream; a hallucination of what she desired most. If that were the case, then she didn't want to wake up.

Helga took another sip of water. With each passing moment, her throat felt parched. It was like a desert in an unbearably hot sun.

"I also wanted to tell you something. Something that I've kept hidden from you for months now, and even though I think, when I tell what it is, you would understand why…I'm ready to tell you now. Arnold and I are getting married, one week for today. We were going to get married earlier, but his accident postponed it. And, I wanted to ask you…I wanted to tell you that…I want you to be there. I don't have a formal invitation or anything, so I'm inviting you myself, in person. I can send you the information on where it is, and what time is starts, but…I want you to be there…to see me get married."

By now, Miriam was sobbing. Screw persona space and cold, yet sweet personalities. Caution to everything she knew be damned.

With wreckless abandon, she threw her arms around her daughter and openly wept for joy. Joy that her daughter was getting married, joy that was she was allowed to see such a happy occasion.

Joy that she was finally welcome back into Helga's life.

Helga's eyes widened at her mother's sudden gesture.

Nevertheless, she herself allowed a small and simple smile as well, and hugged her mother back.

By now, Miriam was openly sobbing. She no longer cared, caution abandoned, space be damned, the joyful woman threw her arms around her daughter.

Next up is the wedding chapter and then an epilogue!


	39. Chapter 38: Finally, We Say I Do

Chapter 38: Finally, We Say I do.

"Alright, hold still. Almost done," Rhonda said, as she began twisting Helga's hair.

Today was Arnold and Helga's wedding day.

After years of dreaming, Helga's dream had become a reality. She was finally marrying the man she worshipped, the man she loved.

As she sat staring at her reflection in the vanity mirror, wearing her wedding gown, tears began to fall from her eyes.

"No! Don't you dare cry! Do you know how long that make up took me to do?" Rhonda exclaimed, but the raven haired woman was smiling all the while.

Helga ignored Rhonda's comment. Usually, she would have had some witty come back, some snide yet sassy remark, but today, in this moment, nothing else but her marriage to Arnold mattered.

Helga had informed her entire bridal party of Arnold's condition, and happily added that he was "good to go." They had all heard of his accident just a month ago. Phone calls from Helga's closest friends flooded in, each one wishing Arnold a speedy recovery. Rhonda sprayed Helga's head with some hair spray, after adding one more pink jewel adorned bobby pin to the blondes's now curled hair.

"There. All done."

And Helga could scarcely believe it. As she looked on at her reflection, the image staring back at her seemed almost like a stranger. The messy tomboy, the tormenter of so many, was now a beautiful woman dressed in white.

She even pinched herself a few times, to remind herself that she was the reflection. That this was real. She even asked Rhonda to pinch her, and the young woman was more than happy to do so, but not before telling Helga that she had been, " a real pain," during the events that led up to the wedding. Rhonda had said this with a smile, so her words weren't entirely harmful. Although, Helga would privately admit that she was right. She may not have had the typical bridezilla, "it's all about ME!" attitude, but she certainly made sure everyone in the wedding and everyone invited knew who the bride was.

Nervously, Helga began to ask her bridesmaids if everyone knew exactly what to do when the whole thing started. Rhonda had waved her hand dismissively.

"Helga, we've only gone though this a hundred times. Out the door, to the left, whole thing is taking place outside near that white pagoda. Now, would you relax?"

Before the bride could respond, there was a loud knock on the door, and Helga called out, asking who it was.

Miriam stepped in nervously, wondering if she would be welcome in the dressing room. When she saw her daughter, she felt tears invade her eyes.

"Oh….oh, Helga…you…."

Helga went over to hug her mother. She knew what Miriam was trying to say.

"Where's dad?"

"Oh, he's out there, somewhere…ready to walk you down the aisle. Helga, I hope I'm not disturbing you, but there's something I…I want to give you."

Miriam reached into her purse, and pulled out a rectangular shaped black velvet box.

"I have something for you. I think right now it is the perfect time to uphold that tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. This is something old."

She opened the box, to reveal the most beautiful necklace Helga had ever seen. Small pear shaped diamonds surrounded opals that came to together to meet with a large pearl, with tear drop pearls hanging from the much larger one.

Helga's jaw dropped when she saw it.

"M….mom…this…this is…!?"

She had recognized the necklace from old photographs. It had been in the family for generations. She had seen pictures of her great grandmother, her grandmother and her mother wearing it, all at their own weddings.

Miriam smiled and nodded.

"That's right. It first belonged to my great grandmother, Louise Murphy Shelton. Then, she passed it on to her daughter, who then passed it on to me. Now, Helga, I am passing it on to you, and you will pass it on to your daughter, when she gets married."

Miriam removed the necklace from the box, and fastened it around Helga's neck.

Rhonda had pitched in with something borrowed: a pair of diamond and pearl drop earrings that she had gotten for a birthday present. They were her favorite piece of jewelry, and although she was nice enough to let Helga wear them for her wedding, she certainly wanted them back by the end of the night.

Olga presented something new: an empty wedding photo album, bound I white leather with gold trim, so that Helga and Arnold could start, "making and saving memories right away."

Phoebe came in with something blue: a sky colored satin ribbon, which she explained that in her mother's family, it was believed blue ribbons were supposed to bring good luck, good fortune, happiness and success. She tied the ribbon around one of Helga's white roses.

Helga gave everyone in the room a large hug, and the entire group shared a loving moment.

Then, another knock on the door sounded. Helga's father, Big Bob, opened the door.

"It's almost time, kid. You ready?"

Helga nodded. Miriam hugged her daughter one more time, before leaving. Bob gave a small nod, acknowledging Miriam.

Helga's wedding party lined up, ready to walk when the music started.

The music kicked up. Helga and Arnold had chosen the instrumental version of their favorite song together, La Vie En Rose, by Edith Piaf (1). It was the very first song they danced to on their very first date as an official couple.

Helga watched as Rhonda, Olga, Phoebe, Big Patty, Sheena and Nadine all made their way out to where the wedding vows would take place. Her fingers began to tightly grip at the pink ribbon that encircled her bouquet

Bob linked arms with his daughter. He looked down at her and noticed her worrisome expression.

"Nervous?"

Helga gave a small grin.

"Uh…yeah…a little bit." She was about to end her days as Helga Pataki, and become a wife.

But, she was more happy than nervous. She had dreamt about this moment ever since she had first laid eyes on Arnold.

Big Bob smiled at his daughter.

"Don't be kid. This is supposed to be a joyous occasion."

Helga smirked.

"Really, I never would have guessed."

Bob smirked back.

"Helga, look…I…I know you and I haven't gotten along as much as we should have, you know, being father and daughter and all that, but I…well, I just wanted know that I'm very, very proud of you, kid."

Helga gave her father a huge hug, and whispered the words, "I know."

"Well, better get going. Don't want to keep the guy waiting."

They both took one step, and made their way to the courtyard.

Every guest turned around behind them to see Helga and her father. The room got so silent, you could have heard a pin drop.

And Arnold? Arnold gave a small gasp as he watched his bride glide towards him. A wave of emotions flooded through him, and he could barely hold back that sheepish grin Helga had come to love so much. The only thing he could think about was how beautiful she was.

Bob gave Helga a kiss on the cheek, before taking his seat besides the bride's mother, and Helga handed her bouquet to Phoebe. Then, she linked hands with Arnold.

The priest, a friend of Arnold's family, Joseph Lee cleared his throat.

"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to join this man, and this woman, in holy matrimony. If anyone believes, that for any reason, these two should not marry, speak now, or forever hold your peace."

There was nothing. Joseph continued his speech.

"We are here to witness and celebrate the happiness of Helga Pataki and Arnold Shortman, and bless them in their new lives together. Who gives this woman in matrimony to this man?"

Bob and Miriam spoke up, a loud, "we do," resonated throughout the area.

Joseph nodded his head.

"Do you, Arnold Phillip Shortman, take Helga Geraldine Pataki, to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to honor and cherish her, and keep her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live?"

Arnold nodded.

"I do."

"Do you, Helga Geraldine Pataki, take Arnold Phillip Shortman, to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to honor and cherish her, and keep her in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I most certainly do."

"May we have the ring please?"

Gerald reached into his pocket, and handed Arnold the wedding rings.

"Arnold, place the ring on Helga's finger, and recite these words: 'Helga, please take this ring, as a symbol of my love and devotion to you. With this ring, I thee wed.'"

Helga let out a quiet sob as Arnold placed the delicate white gold band on her finger, biting her lip in a smile as he repeated the priest's words.

"Helga, place the other ring on Arnold's finger, and repeat after me: 'Arnold, please take this ring, as a symbol of my love and devotion to you. With this ring, I thee wed.'"

Helga could barely contain herself, and the words almost came out in stuttering jobs of joy.

Joseph allowed himself a small smile, as he prepared to take the next step.

"What love, honor and devotion has brought together, let no other break apart. By the power vested in me, and the state of Washington, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. Please…kiss your bride."

Arnold nearly crashed into Helga, the force almost knocking her backward as his lips came down on hers, engulfing them in a searing, yet romantic kiss. A chorus of cheers and laughter rang through the newly married couples ears.

Arnold linked arms with his new bride, and together, they made their way down the aisle.

Notes:

La Vie En Rose is a song performed by Edith Piaf. I listened to the instrumental version of it, and it is absolutely beautiful.

Also, the wedding vows. I had to some research, and took some quotes (changed some of the wording, cut some stuff out, etc.) from various sites. They are:

Officianteric

Open-ministry

The Knot

I've never written something that included a marriage or a wedding, so my knowledge of it is a little…blah. How about this (and jokingly) :if and when I get married, I'll go back and rewrite this chapter. I'll have gone through it, and therefore will have plenty of experience to know what the hell I'm writing about.


	40. Chapter 39: The Ceremony

Chapter 39: The Ceremony

"Ladies and gentleman, it gives me the great pleasure to introduce to you, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Shortman."

The DJ Arnold and Helga had chosen rang through the large dining hall, the song, "Dynamite" (1) accompanied the announcement.

Arnold and Helga beamed as they stood before guests, friends and family, beaming as wide as their faces would allow. As they made their way to the wedding party table, Helga began pumping the first that held her bouquet, her head thrown back in laughter.

As soon as she sat down, Olga threw her arms around her sister, nearly crushing the poor woman.

"Helga, sweetie, I'm so proud and happy for you!"

Her other bridal members began congratulating her as well.

A few feet away, sitting at a pink colored table cloth, Miriam stared at her daughter.

What was once a little girl who always greeted the world with a scowl and a fist was now a grown woman before her, a grown woman who had just begun her new life with her very own husband.

Despite everything she and Helga had been through, thankful couldn't even begin to describe how she felt at this moment. It was a moment she would cherish until the day she died.

"Hey."

She looked up to see Bob standing above her.

"Oh….Robert…hi."

Bob nodded his head towards the empty seat next to Miriam, silently asking if he could join her.

She nodded, and took the seat.

"Uhm….you…?"

"Thought I'd say hi. So, how are you doing?"

"Oh you know, doing good, doing good. Just thinking about how happy and proud of Helga I am. "

"I feel the same way, Miriam."

'Perhaps Helga's marriage will be happy and successful, unlike mine.' Bob thought.

He knew it would be. The love she had for Arnold was greater than the love Bob and Miriam ever had for each other It was true, Bob and Miriam did marry for love, but it was rushed. Everything they did was rushed. They both had pushed themselves into something that, much later on in their years, discovered that they knew they were not ready for. And, ultimately, it destroyed their own marriage.

Helga, however, was different. She was impulsive, but knew how to use her head. She rushed into things, yes, but never without consideration and careful planning. Furthermore, Helga was smart, and as they looked at their daughter's bright face and smiling eyes, they knew she would not be ok, she would be just great.

"So, I hear that you are patching up you relationship with Helga?"

"Yes. I'm very happy to say that I am."

Bob nodded.

"That's…that's good to hear, Miriam."

His marriage had failed, but not without reason. Too long of a story to tell, and too much of a headache to remember, despite the divorce, he knew that the initial cause and lead up to the destruction of Helga's relationship with her mother was not something caused by him, nor was it something he ever set out to do. And because of that, Big Bob Pataki felt no regrets. If Helga was patching up her relationship with her mother, well, he would never tell Helga what to do, or how to go about it. But, he would fully support it.

"Everyone, please gather round, as the bride and groom shares their first dance together as a married couple." The DJ announced

Helga looked up to see Arnold over her, his arm stretched out.

"May I have this dance?" he said with the smile that had always made her weak inside.

Helga gave him a playful smirk, and placed her hand in his.

Everyone watched as bride and groom swayed and spun to the music. Their footsteps alternated between slow and quick, and Helga seemed to glide with every move.

Arnold grabbed Helga's hand, and swung her back into her arms, clutching at her tightly, but not aggressively.

"So, here we are."

"You're stuck with me for life now, Football head."

Arnold chuckled, and spun his new wife around.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Helga. Wouldn't have it any other way."

As they danced, Arnold thought back to his days as a child, more specifically, the day Rhonda used her origami marriage predictor. Every single time, his results came up as Helga Pataki. He was terrified, shocked, disbelieving, and almost even repulsed. He even had a nightmare about it. A marriage to Helga Pataki could only mean that life as he knew it would be over. A slave to the Pataki family business.

And now look at him. The girl who tormented him so much was now his wife. He had later admitted to Gerald that being married to Helga may not have been as mad as his nightmares made it out to be. That still didn't mean he would have jumped at the chance of marrying Helga, though.

Fast forward years later, and fate did have a sense of humor. The girl he couldn't picture himself with was now the woman he couldn't live without.

The wedding party went on with music and dancing, before it was time to cut the cake.

The six tiered pink wedding cake was rolled out. On top were the pink and white letters of A &amp; H.

Arnold's hands were on top of Helga's as they cut the first slice as man and wife. Before he could react to anything, she had taken the piece, a rather large one, and shoved it into her new husband's face, laughing as she did so. Arnold no hesitations of giving his wife a taste of her own medicine, or in this case, a taste of cake.

The celebration continued throughout the night. Arnold and Helga swayed to the music as they danced in each other's arms.

When it was all over, they bid their guests goodbye, and Arnold had to help a highly intoxicated Helga to the limo. This proved to be a bit difficult, as the groom was slightly unbalanced as well. It was a good thing neither of them were driving.

As he was helping her in, he saw Gerald come over.

"Man. She is _wasted_!"

Arnold chuckled.

"Eh…I'll cut her some slack. I'm feeling pretty tipsy myself. It is our wedding, after all."

"Well, you take care of yourself, Arnold. And great wedding, by the way."

The two men did their handshake, the same one they had done since they were kids. It was a part of their friendship, and would continue to be so till the end of time.

Arnold got into the limo, and placed his arm around Helga, pulling her close.

"Now, let's see…what should I do with my lovely wife on our honeymoon?" He gazed at his wife seductively.

Helga grabbed his shoulders, and yanked him into a searing kiss.

"Way ahead of you, football head. Way ahead of you."

They both fell to the floor of the limo, as Arnold reached up to push the button that brought down the window, giving the newlyweds some much needed privacy.

Notes:

Dynamite-Taio Cruz.

Ok. I was wrong. This _was_ almost as long as Rebuild a Foundation. Curse my numerous ideas, curse them!

Stay tuned for the epilogue.


	41. Epilogue

Epilogue:

It had been one year and six months since Arnold and Helga's wedding.

Married life had suited the couple just fine. Arnold continued to work at the museum, just like he had since they had gotten engaged. He had recently been promoted to a much higher position, and now the responsibility of overseeing ever exhibit. He even got to travel on his job, visiting and helping out other museums.

Helga continued to do her writing. Her blog caught the eye of a major life style company, who had asked her if they could post her blog on their website, and had offered to pay her if she blogged for them. At first, Helga wasn't too keen on the idea. After all, she had put her soul into that writing, and refused to be a sellout. But, when she was told she was free to write in her own style, no limitations, it was an offer she couldn't refuse. Besides, she and Arnold could use with the extra money.

Helga's parents, Bob and Miriam, had started to become great friends. It all started out when Miriam bumped into Bob at the grocery store. What was once a dysfunctional marriage that ended with a messy divorce had now become a healthy relationship between two adults, who, while no longer in love like they used to be, still cared about and respected one another. In a way, though, they still did love each other. They always would, but the love they had for each other now was strictly platonic. Helga would often joke with her parents, if they were going to "retie the knot," but they just laughed and shook their heads. They didn't want to remarry. At least, not to each other. No, a friendship was all they needed. They were both happy the way they were. And if Bob and Miriam could still share holiday dinners, family events and other things together as just friends, and still be able to fully and honestly enjoy themselves, then there was no reason to remarry. Finally, for the first time in years, both Bob and Miriam were truly enjoying each other's company. No rings or papers were required for a friendship.

Olga had recently broken up with Carter. She had watched her friends, and her own sister, all get married before her. Although she hated to admit it out right, this sent a flare of jealousy coursing through her veins. Why not her? When was it going to be her turn? What did they have that she didn't? Was she simply not wife material?

She brought up the topic with Carter, who had responded with that he wanted to get married, he just, "wasn't ready." Fair enough. Only disaster could come from pushing someone into marriage when they weren't ready to do so.

Time flew by, and still nothing. Eventually, they had set a date for when he would "most likely" propose. That most likely soon became a promise, and Olga took delight in the fact that she would finally be taking that big leap.

That promised day came and went. Months flew by, and still nothing. She had confronted him about it. After all, it certainly wasn't fair for him to toy with her emotions.

When one more excuse came to delay any chance of marriage, that was it for her. His admission that he told her he wanted to get married because he would say anything to make her stay didn't help matters, either. Furthermore, she didn't like being taken advantage of, by being given false promises of marriage. Carter begged her to stay, said that he was only kidding, and that he truly did want to marry her, but Olga had had enough. There were only so many "let's get married's," "oh, but I'm not ready's," "eventually's," "soons" and "maybe's" that a woman could take in a relationship, and Olga saw no point in staying with someone who truly wasn't willing to take it to the next level.

Helga took her sister out for a "get over your shitty ass boyfriend" night at the bar, and Olga had proceeded to get drunk as hell. The younger of the two sisters was very happy she had caught Olga's drunken escapades on tape, ranging from crying about how Carter didn't know what he was missing out on, to having a drunken therapy session with a stray cat.

It was only until someone threatened to call the police that Helga drove Olga back to hers and Arnold's place, and let the woman spend the night.

Arnold had never been more scared and amused at the same time in his entire life when Helga came back dragging a singing-god-knows-what Olga through the front door.

Who knew Olga had it in her?

It was a sunny day in Hillwood, and Arnold had gotten off of work early. His boss, Mr. Angelo, had told him that he was very proud of the way Arnold was handling things, and was allowed to take the rest of the day off.

Arnold pulled into the drive way of his and Helga's home, and was surprised to see two white balloons, each one had a large black question mark written on it, tied to their mailbox.

Curious, he stepped inside.

On the banister, was a piece of paper with two black arrows pointing towards the top of the stairs. Below the arrows, was Helga's own handwriting: a surprise that is wanted, but cannot be bought.

Frowning, he made his way up stairs, and noticed that Helga was in their bedroom, sitting on their bed, a sly smirk on her fair features.

Arnold was taken aback. Normally, when Helga had that look on her face, she was usually wearing something that left very little to the imagination. But today, there was something…different about her.

For one thing, she was fully clothed.

"Just in time to play a game, football head."

Arnold cocked one eyebrow.

"A game, huh?"

Helga nodded.

"Yes. A game. There is something hidden in this room. The object of the game is to find it."

Oh, so it was one of _those _games. Arnold shook his head with a smile, and placed his work bag onto the floor.

He began searching through their room.

He began searching under their bed, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Their closet held nothing unusual as well, including all of the shoe boxes, which were empty.

He opened up the drawer to Helga's vanity mirror. Nothing there. Then, he opened the other drawer. Still nothing.

There was one last place to look: Helga's oak jewelry box with pink and gold enamel, the one he bought her for her 23rd birthday.

He opened it up to find a long white stick. His eyes widened as he picked it up, and turned it over.

Arnold looked back and forth from the stick to Helga, words clearly failing him.

Finally, he managed to choke out, "Helga…are…are you…?!"

Helga laughed and nodded.

"Sure am, Arnoldo. Found out this morning when you were at work."

Before she could continue with her story, Arnold gave a loud cry of joy. Dashing over to his wife, he picked her up off the bed, and spun her around, Helga laughing all the while.

To celebrate this glorious news, husband and wife shared a passionate kiss.

It was a future that was sure to be filled with happiness.

And that is the end of A Gift. I want to thank all of my reviewers for sticking by me as I wrote this, as well as for your amazing ideas, and your words of encouragement. I appreciate you all so much.

On another note, while writing this, I had the idea that Bob and Miriam fell back in love and got married again, but I decided to scrap it. I thought that, after the events in Rebuild a Foundation, there was really no point in having them get married again, and decided that they would be much better off as two very good friends, rather than husband and wife. Furthermore, they both know that, while they still love and care about one another, a marriage between them just can't work.

After this story, I am all multi-chaptered out. Now, that doesn't mean I'm done with the Hey Arnold universe. Far from it. I'm going to be writing one shots here and there, but no multi-chaptered stories for quite some time.

See you guys soon!


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